Advanced Commando II
by BraviaryScout
Summary: Federation Commando Ash Ketchum and his newlywed wife May Maple have settled into a happy life together, but when an old enemy resurfaces and puts the world on the brink of war, he is forced back into the service to fight his toughest opponents yet. Will he pay the price for ensuring May and his family's safety? Sequel to Advanced Commando. AU, Advanceshipping & Amourshipping.
1. Pilot

**Hey everyone, MWIM here back from a long hiatus of the real world and with the sequel to Advanced Commando, a story I did not expect to take off in the way it did. Huge thanks to those faithful who read, favorite, subscribed. For those new to this AU of mine, I would suggest that you read the original to familiarize yourself on what has happened. Otherwise, a lot of things are not going to make sense.**

 **Without further ado, I present the creatively titled sequel; Advanced Commando II.**

 **I do not own Pokemon.**

* * *

It was a landscape of another world. Vast glittering fields of freshly fallen snow adorned the ground with black wiry husks of hollowed out trees.

Winds blew nonstop in a loud shriek that could penetrate the thoughts of anyone there. Reaching nearly fifty miles an hour, it was accompanied by the ever present darkness on clear nights. Such were quite rare and instead the wispy blankets of clouds circled the entire surroundings, refusing to let go.

The sun would set and sometimes not appear again for weeks on end.

It was not an island for humans or most pokemon to inhabit. Even the hardy ice-types that thrived in the cold avoided this place if possible. Rumors of abomasnow and snover living around were still rumors and believed to be the cause of the multiple blizzards that lasted for eighteen hours at times. What few small towns were on this frozen rock situated themselves further north for ports to bring in the fruit of the hunting and fishing industry that was the primary drive to their small economies.

This made it a perfect place for the notorious belligerent Frieden Empire to build a supermax prison during their glory days. It was a prison made for their well-known purging of political enemies and some of the aggressive nation's most dangerous criminals.

Built into a cave that hugged a rocky valley, this facility was built to house three hundred inmates and ran at full capacity during the Empire's reign and the recent disastrous war when it had tried to invade several of its weaker neighbors. Since then, the Frieden had been relatively unstable as not everyone had vied for the same goal or method of controlling its own corner of the world. Others believed that they were being further drawn into the war that they couldn't win and thus it and its opponents agreed to an uneasy armistice. Despite the agreement, it was clear every day that the tensions between it and its main rival, the Kanto-Johto Federation were threatening to boil over and render it invalid.

With the leaders trying to keep their country together, facilities like these were closed and the inmates they housed ended up in cremated bins and given a mass grave just a quarter mile away from the entrance off to the side of the service road.

Now it had been reopened since stability had returned and they were once again preparing for a war that would inevitably happen. The Frieden had arrived at the prison to find it exactly how they had left it almost a decade ago. Impenetrable, impregnable and inescapable.

Today the weather had been cooperative after dumping six more inches of fresh snow and having the wind howl mercilessly overhead. The hollowed out trees were the only thing keeping anyone or anything from getting cold burns for that matter. The temperature had crested ten degrees; the warmest it was supposed to be that week.

A lone truck in the Frieden's utilitarian design and bleak dull blue color powered along the road, blowing out thin white trails of exhaust as it wound its way up the hill where the mouth of the cave prison sat in a monumental and imposing fashion. A fenced gate stretched about fifty feet in front with a guard ladder and tower built onto the upper lip. There was a small booth that tended to the main fence as well as leading up to two fully automatic fifty caliber machine guns trained on the vehicle when it ambled in their direction.

A lone guard inside the booth was huddled under a barely functioning heat lamp and grumbled when the truck approached. He cursed the logistics for not sending a replacement to the source that made his job tolerable before putting on a heavy coat and slinging an iconic FAL assault rifle over his shoulder. Keeping it within an easy reach, he shuffled over to the driver's side and waited.

He didn't have to for long. The window was cranked down and a pair of papers was handed over. Even though he didn't recognize the driver or the man riding shotgun, there was regular changes in shifts so he may not have to deal with the same people at the same time.

The guard was satisfied with the credentials and waved to the snow covered window. A moment later, the gate creaked open, sliding noisily with a metallic screech that permeated the sound of the wind.

Driving just under the mouth, the road was stopped by a large concrete wall with several other identical trucks parked beside. They found a spot to park and several other armed guards, now in white and gray camouflage fatigues used hand signals to help guide the driver in. Here it was mandatory that no keys were to be left in the ignition in the event a prisoner would break free and use one of the vehicles for a getaway. So he pocketed them after shutting off the engine.

The rear doors were unlocked by a different set, kept by the staff and they opened up, engulfing the entire hold with brilliant white light. One of the guards in fatigues raised a rifle into firing position; ready to gun down its lone occupant at a moment's notice.

The prisoner sat on the truck's right side with his head bowed and arms shackled together and to the floor. His legs were similarly done with the rusted metal bounds nearly twice as thick circling his thighs.

"Welcome home," The guard with the rifle greeted, "Nothing stupid yeah?"

A nod of the head confirmed the order before his partner stepped in with a key to unlock the chains around his arms and off the floor. The leg mounts remained attached; those would come off once the prisoner had officially been handed off and the warden verifying the transaction.

Shuffling his bare feet across the freezing floor, he dropped to the ground, giving off a grimace of discomfort. For several hours, he had been restrained with only a thin layer of clothing to shield him from the cold and it was difficult to shift positions. Only the truck's cabin was heated.

He was one Karl de Vaal, a notorious Frieden freelancer who had flourished as one of the most dangerous hitmen for the highest bidder on the empire's rampant human trafficking trade. Standing a few inches above six feet, his short grayish hair seemed to almost sparkle in the dank atmosphere. Upon closer inspection, the "hair" was in fact extremely detailed tattoos that went from the top of his shaved head down to his back. Although de Vaal had a solid build, many of the guards knew he wouldn't last long inside. At the same time, the intense stare of his brown irises, a rare eye color in the Frieden told them he wasn't one to back down easily.

Escorted inside another room, the temperature was just slightly warmer, but the windchill had dropped to make it tolerable.

Standing just after the entrance were two additional men, both of them much larger than de Vaal himself. Their limbs could've been as thick as tree trunks and works of ink adorned their bodies as well. In the underworld; many tattoos acted like resumes.

"Fresh meat huh?" One of them huffed, leaning against one of the columns, "That must means more mouths to feed."

"Wait until we're done with indoctrination Joseph," The guard said, "Then you can explain the rules. After all can't be choosy here."

"Fair enough." The colossal man interrupted the sequence and stood before the three. At this point, de Vaal knew that this was part of the culture in a Frieden prison. Many times, the prisoners were the ones who ran the place, rather than the ones guarding it. His actions now were about to determine his fate.

Joseph's eyes widened at the slightest fraction. Unbeknownst to him, de Vaal was watching him very closely.

He made his move.

It was literally an instant before the massive man slugged his fist into his victim's kidney in a blow that probably would've ruptured the organ. Grabbing the giant arm, he used the momentum as well as the heavier weight of his attacker was thrown forward. Next, de Vaal thrust his arm towards the concrete pillar in a hammer blow. Although cold incited numbness, pain could also become more sensitive and the hard barrier all but shattered his bones on impact.

Joseph began to collapse to the ground as de Vaal was in motion, even when the two guards and other prisoner were still in shock over the sudden turn of events. Since Joseph's partner was the bigger threat, he was targeted first. Even though he also towered over him, de Vaal used that to his advantage in launching an uppercut of a bony fist connecting right at the jawline. As the man's face went upward, Karl struck with his other arm, punching perfectly in the solar plexus. He became winded, but miraculously managed to stay on his feet for merely a moment before he too collapsed.

Something blunt impacted the back of his head with enough force to make black stars explode in his eyes. He fell to his knees, but quickly felt someone grab both of his arms and bring them together in cuffs. The practice was done smoothly and happened before he had a chance to even register what was occurring. In the background, three more guards with weapons drawn entered in the case that additional action was required.

"Good luck in here," The guard said, spitting over de Vaal and delivering a sledgehammer kick to his stomach. It wasn't long before the others had joined in and the beatings faded with unconsciousness.

* * *

When Karl de Vaal awoke, he had no clue on how much time had elapsed. There were no windows here and his internal clock had been messed up thanks to the beating he received. Bruises mottled his body, giving off a purplish tint to the gray ink on his entire torso and back.

He was now in a concrete cell that was barely big enough to stretch his aching body across its frozen floor. There was nothing inside except a small metal sink, toilet, a cot that looked as if it had never been washed and a thick steel door with two latches; one for food dispensation and another at eye level for observation.

This was solitary.

Karl de Vaal smiled to himself.

Looking down, he saw that his legs were fully shackled and in the guards' haste to beat on him had neglected to remove them. The full body search hadn't been conducted; otherwise they would've found the smuggler's belt.

Essentially the belt was entirely made of a flexible cheap metal that was hollowed out underneath the cloth and filled with things that were considered contraband or had to escape prying eyes. A small latch at the buckle would open the insides and things could be stripped out in between the fibers used to disguise it as an old worn one. Metal detectors and screenings would only see the frame when it was set off and whatever was inside could pass.

Perfect. He was home free.

Karl had instigated the fight in order to get himself thrown into solitary the moment he had arrived. Many times in prison culture, their actions would determine where one would reside in the building. By taking on the toughest guys in the room, he had already established himself with a reputation of someone not to cross.

Unhooking the smuggler's belt, the Kanto-Johto Federation Commando known as Cobalt One checked everything inside, satisfied that it was all in place. Normally, prisoners would also be bound at the waist and a guard would've been suspicious right away, but one of them was working with him alongside the driver and had done the shackling. Even the smashing of the rifle's stock to the back of his head was part of the act.

Cobalt didn't know the prison's routine, so he figured it was best to wait until he had a sense of how things went around and at the same time, recover somewhat from the beating. The operation was divided into three parts. The first one getting inside went off without a hitch.

* * *

Karl de Vaal was a real person, a gun-for-hire in the Frieden underworld that the government didn't want, but couldn't kill. So they shipped him to the ass end of the world for the rest of his life to await a trail that wouldn't happen in his lifetime.

While he was on route, a KJ Federation Commando team intercepted the truck in a seamless act and trussed the prisoner and his two guards up in an abandoned shack at the edge of the town where they had come from. The duplicates came to replace them and went on their way in minutes. Once the operation was over; an anonymous call to the town authorities would be placed and eventually the real Karl de Vaal would be once again headed to whatever fate awaited him in this frigid hellhole.

The second part; getting into solitary also went smoothly. Joseph and his goon made perfect targets for Cobalt to show off his abilities as well as inadvertently telling the guards that he was not to be mixed in general population.

It was the third part which was questionable on whether it could be pulled off. Lieutenant Commander Surge, the CO of the famous Special Forces had called their solution for this high-stakes mission impossible, yet he had fully voiced his approval and unanimously approved by Federation High Command.

Federation Commandos were well trained in breaking in and out of prisons belonging to their enemies, but as far as he knew; this was the first time any of them had attempted to break _into_ one undercover.

Cobalt moved over to the toilet and stuck his hand down the bowl, groping around in the freezing water until he felt a thin piece of metal. Pulling it out, it was a spare copy of keys to his shackles, his cell's door and the one where his target was being held. It wasn't indicated which was which, placed there when the covert guards "escorted" him straight to solitary. Once the plan was put into motion, their informants would disappear.

* * *

He spent the next day and a half learning the routine in the solitary blocks. Since the cell numbers and blocks were painted on each door, he immediately knew of his location, having memorized the schematics in his briefing.

At roughly noon, or so he thought, there was a meal served. The bottom door slid open to push a tiny metal tray containing a bowl of cold, pungent, yellowish slop and a piece of bread that resembled a rock in both appearance and texture. Judging by the sounds the guard made of emptying the big bucket that held the gruel and tearing off bread to slide through the doors that there were eight other inmates in the block further down, meaning either he was at the end or the beginning. Nobody spoke which told him there would be further punishment if he did.

He left the food untouched when the hairy arm reached back in to retrieve the tray.

"Huh, alright then," The guard sneered to nobody in particular, "If you insist. Food's not going to get any better."

Other than the once-a-day feeding, nobody checked on the prisoners, so Cobalt set to work. After removing the shackles and stripping the smuggler's portion of the belt out, he laid its contents on the bed.

The key to the whole operation was in a half dozen capsules filled with a putty-like substance. Each capsule was the size and shape of a ketchup packet. This mortar acid was specially designed to break down the composition. At first, Cobalt panicked when the reaction wasn't instantaneous when he started at his cell's back, but eventually it ate away at the mortar. He gave rare praise to the Fed's R&D division on making up the acid and the dozen tests and mock-ops they had done. They had read through multiple classified documents on the company that had built the prison to determine its exact makeup and create the acid that worked the best. That was the official statement. In reality, a second Commando team along with a hacker working for the Federation had broken into the company's headquarters on Frieden soil and scanned the information, feeding it back to the eggheads who then got to work.

After a few minutes, Cobalt took the thin metal probe, squeezing the last of the packet on the end and smearing it on the small slit he had created. He always wanted to come prepared and had two additional packets with him, even though he had done it with four.

Like the schematic had said, there was only that one layer of wall between the cell and the edge of the building. If there was another barrier like this, he wouldn't have enough acid to go through it and this would be the shortest elaborate prison break in history.

Cobalt kicked at the block until it finally gave way and peered through the dimly lit space. Next obstacle was enormous concrete slabs with ventilation shafts that had small bits of snow filtering through the top. That was going to be his way out.

While the rest of his mortar acid would be useless, he started the next part in putting together the tiny timer and detonator. The next thing he had smuggled in, a thin pack of plastic explosives was going to punch through that like a hot knife through soft butter.

* * *

 **So here's the pilot chapter. I understand it doesn't make sense right now, but I promise it will all come together.  
**

 **There will be character returns, new ones introduced, deaths but above all, I hope everyone gets a decent read out of this.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**


	2. Chapter 2

Over the course of a couple hours, Cobalt had widened the hole he had created in the back where he could crawl through. Just in case an inspection randomly occurred, he stacked the bricks in front of the opening with enough room to squeeze behind. In such bad lighting, it would give anyone looking inside as if it were a solid wall. After the next lunch break which he never touched again, he set to work with another packet in creating a small hole just outside the door's jamb that was big enough he could stick his arm through and get his way out.

The final item he had brought inside with him was a tiny transmitter the size of his thumbnail. Once he activated it and got a response, he would have ten minutes to find the man he had come here for and get out. That meant blowing the explosives and into the cover of the night as soon as possible.

Tearing off parts of the bed's thin blanket, he weaved the wire through and tied it snugly around his feet. Cobalt knew that shards of the concrete could be sharper than a scyther's blades and although it provided minimal protection, it was better than bare skin. For once, he didn't have to worry about the icy floor.

Ernst Schein had been a kid genius who rose through the Frieden military when he came onto the Federation's radar two decades ago. An operation through their intelligence division had been cooked up and to their surprise, Schein willingly deserted his post although he had never sworn allegiance to them. Through age, laziness and arrogance; he had become a heavyset man who exercised every time a jirachi appeared and consumed enough to kill a snorlax. He had only been imprisoned for a little more than a month and yet the guards or fellow inmates could have done anything to him. Schein could be dead for all he knew.

Regardless of what condition the Fed's informant and weapon developer was in; Cobalt's ten minutes were chiseled in stone. Ready to make his move, he hit the tiny button, which blinked green twice and set a mental timer in his head. An acknowledgement of three red blinks came back moments later. His team had gotten the message.

Grabbing the keys, he stuck it into the lock and turned one way. It didn't budge. A twist in the other direction produced a latching sound, but stopped afterwards. Going in the opposite counterclockwise direction released the final bolt and the door swung open away from him. Cobalt did give credit for the smart architects that did that. A solid door going the other way could conceal a prisoner as an unsuspecting guard entered a cell for whatever reason.

"Schein?" He whispered.

"Who's there?" A familiar accented voice called back.

Cobalt homed in on the voice immediately, a few doors down and opened the peephole. There before him was the man that he had loathed to call friend.

"Cobalt!" The genius exclaimed before quickly hushing his voice down, looking him over, "What have you done to yourself?" In their many times they crossed paths; Schein only got Cobalt as a name for the individual and thus didn't call him anything else except for "my friend".

"Made myself a little more attractive. What do you think?"

"Who sent you?" He demanded, "Are you here to rescue or kill me?"

"What do you think?" Cobalt deadpanned, repeating himself.

"I presume rescue, so don't disappoint me. My paranoia knows no bounds. You, my friend of all people should know that. So what has happened out there in the world? These asshats don't let us read the newspaper or nothing,"

"Hmm," The Commando got to work, using the only key he hadn't touched yet, "The uprising by that nutjob in eastern Unova has been put down, the supermodel Solana is getting married again; we've all bet this one will last for maybe six months, ending in a nasty divorce and another baby with shared custody. Finally, the Chargers have no competent linebackers so every quarterback has time to make and eat his lunch before passing. Oh and you've managed to piss the wrong person off again."

"Alvero I suspect,"

"Yup."

The infamous Ingridson Alvero was known for her ruthlessness and she had torn a never-ending path of destruction and death on her rise to power. Backed by hardliner Frieden politicians, she was one of the youngest fleet commanders in history and all sources said her newfound allies would eventually be turning the barrels of their weapons on the weak government heading the country.

So Schein had been one of her enemies since he had gone freelance after defecting and returning to help run a covert shipyard with Admiral Hnels; Alvero's predecessor. He had been sent to the prison and was awaiting trial, which was safe to say that he wouldn't survive to see it through. The guards working here were under her payroll and would easily arrange his death after word of the arrest had subsided.

Charges of corruption were the usual form of imprisonment and it was an open secret that both he and the Admiral he worked for were such. However it was as much part of the Frieden's military culture as faulty machines and crappy food.

"And I will thank you for not charging extra on additional deals,"

"Let's make sure you still have your property before that happens," Cobalt sneered, "Otherwise a paycheck with plenty of digits will be accepted in turn." He gave the key a final twist and the lock sprang open.

The moment he was free, Shein jumped right out, giving Cobalt nearly no time to catch his behemoth figure.

"Off," He felt like he was talking to an overly loyal growlithe, "Crazy Frieden bastard,"

"My arrest wasn't coincidental," The genius started, his comedic expression fading and turning grimmer. "I have a great deal of information that Alvero will kill to stay quiet,"

"That's why we need to move. I have only seven minutes to get you out of here."

They crept back to Cobalt's cell where he had come from. The transmitter was crushed in his hand before he threw the fragments as well as the keys into the toilet. That evidence would be flushed down.

"No matter what; stay by my side."

Schein automatically looked behind to watch for anyone. The moment the explosives were triggered; guards would be alerted. They had to move quick.

He thumbed the detonator in his hand and flipped the switch. Almost instantly, the foamy bomb detonated, a muffled booming sound followed by a rush of air. The walls seemed to shake with enough force to rattle teeth.

Moving through the tiny crack, they had to squeeze through another narrow alcove before reaching the pile of cement. The air was thick with dust and a rank chemical smell from the explosives permeated the air. A shrill alarm shrieked, piercing the silence.

Climbing their way up the rubble, they managed to reach the top, where a narrow piece was about seven feet higher than the collapsed pile. All along the top were metal plates that were riveted down to keep air circulating. Snow drifted down on the men as Cobalt pressed his hands up, testing the integrity of the plate. It was cold enough to make his hands feel as if they were being burned. Decades of wear made it pop free before he was even ready.

Jumping up, he grabbed the edge of the concrete, swinging his legs to haul himself upward. The edge had been slippery and a long way down if he lost hold. Schein was right behind him, easily able to get out despite the fact Cobalt felt as if he was pulling three of himself up.

Mentally timing; his ten minutes had about twenty seconds left. They were in a small ditch just in behind the prison's main gate and just looking up out of the pit meant they would be spotted.

"What are we waiting for?" Schein demanded, "They will find us any moment!"

"Patience. Just stay by me."

Along with the alarms, there was a faint whistling sound that seemed to be growing louder before it slammed into the building above with a loud explosion. The timer in his head hit zero.

"Let's go,"

Even when they were totally exposed with their dark prison outfits, Cobalt bolted out of their hiding spot and took off across the ground. The source of the new noise revealed itself with a white glare of lights that locked onto the other lights training on the ground. The search operators that had been pressed into action to spot escaped convicts were blinded as the VTOL attack aircraft moved swiftly to its right, avoiding a burst of machine gun fire from a tower from a jittery guard. Its wing flashed and it sent another rocket right at the base, shattering it and causing the structure to wobble before collapsing with a screech of metal. All hopes were pinned that the defendants had their eyes trained on the attacking aircraft.

Another jumpy gunner let off another burst from the machine gun despite the VTOL being well out of its effective range. In response, it lit another rocket, streaking across the sky. The aim was off-target and it hit the ground in front of the fence, blasting an enormous gap in between two points. The guards had flinched and quickly jumped off the tower nonetheless.

Neither man was hit as they sprinted out of the fence's perimeter through the newly created opening, but they had to quickly shovel a thin path underneath a barely visible layer of concertina wire. No time could be wasted and the makeshift trench was hastily dug, so the razor wire scraped at their backs. Cobalt felt where one had sliced its way just underneath his right shoulder, but after checking himself over; there was no serious bleeding. Schein was also in good shape and keeping pace despite his exhaustion and size.

The VTOL descended right in front of them behind the first layer of trees as more gunfire whizzed by. Resembling a stubby winged plane, it had wings curved upwards slightly with twin air ducts that provided it with its omnidirectional maneuvering capabilities. A skilled pilot was able to make it turn on a dime to have increased evasiveness and a multitude of hardpoints allowed a vast array of weapons to be mounted for any assault role.

It hovered just above the ground, dropping a pair of cables with two loops attached to them with about six feet in between. Blast from the screaming engines was like standing in hurricane winds although they were grateful for the heat washing over their bodies. The moment both men had slipped one hand and one foot into the slots, the aircraft rose in a gut-wrenching ascent until it leveled out, leaving almost a hundred feet between them and the ground. The headlights snapped off and it whirled about in the winds, swinging them as if they were a hypno's pendulum.

Back at the prison, the guards were blindly firing up into the sky in hopes of obtaining a lucky hit, but three seconds before regaining their senses, the aircraft thundered south, continuing to head on a vector in which it had approached. That way was quickly giving to more mountains.

Without any protection from the wind, Cobalt and Schein were relentlessly slashed with stinging cold gusts and tiny particles of sleet that felt as if a thousand razorblades were stabbing their limbs. Through the rough terrain, the Frieden scientist figured that their pilot had to be wearing some sort of night-vision aid in order to do such ballsy flying in the uncharted area. He cursed Cobalt for such a tormenting flight, but wouldn't say anything until he would stop shivering so much.

The journey lasted only seven minutes, but it might as well have been an eternity.

Thrusters began whining down and the VTOL slowly made its way closer to the ground. Cobalt extended his feet and bent his knees to absorb the shock impact on the snow when the surface rushed to greet him. Schein was less controlled and rolled when he had hit. Nevertheless, both men were unharmed. The downwash from the engines' heat faded and both men were back on their way to contracting hypothermia and frostnip.

No sooner had they unhooked themselves before the aircraft's engines quickly increased in output and it sped off, continuing on its southbound flight path.

Schein was amazed at the sophistication of the operation so far, but it was insane to leave both men stranded in the frozen wasteland. At the same time, the Federation Commandos were full of surprises and he suspected Cobalt hadn't called everything in his playbook yet.

In the moonlight, the VTOL banked behind the first jagged mountain peak and disappeared from sight. Schein nodded in its direction, "You smart Fed bastard. That ship's a diversion,"

"You catch on quick."

"That's why you dropped us here and didn't change direction when we left. You want them to follow it." He cocked his head, "Will the pilot be alright?"

"The pilot's sitting at a station onboard our ship," Cobalt said, enjoying the flurry of emotions playing across the genius' face. "He only had a week to practice after we installed the remote controls,"

"You're crazy,"

"Been called worse," He gestured to a small cave nearby, "We're not out of the woods yet. There was a helicopter back at the installation. Come on."

Leading the way inside, he found what looked to be a dark rock and pulled off the big cloth, quickly stuffing it in the pouch of an enormous snowmobile. Schein was tossed a snowsuit and insulated boots and gloves. As they dressed and felt the relief of some permanent warmth, Cobalt poured some cool premade coffee and took gentle sips, aware that his body temperature needed to gradually get itself back up to normality. Schein finished the cup and crossed over as Cobalt started the engine.

"So what's the plan?"

"While they follow the empty VTOL south, we're going west to where the _Audacious_ is awaiting."

"Ah yes, your expensive new warship. One that I helped with her new weapons and stealth features." Schein boasted.

"Trip will take about a half hour, so enjoy the ride." Cobalt pulled a facemask on and clipped himself onto the vehicle. A silver ski visor was put over his eyes. Underneath it was a micro headset that was connected to the satellite transmitter stashed with the rest of the gear. A quick jack of the cords and he tapped it twice, receiving three taps in reply.

"This is Cobalt One," He called over the line, "Cobalt Two, you copy?"

"Two reads ya One," Another man's voice filtered through his headset, "I still can't believe we're about to pull this off,"

"You can talk about it with your future kids once I'm back aboard _Audacious_. Our diamond's been stolen. ETA fifty five."

"Roger that Cobalt," Two chuckled, "We're moving into position and I'll have the showers ready for ya,"

* * *

 **Everyone enjoying the story so far? Love it? Hate it? Updates are going to be sparse, once...maybe twice a week because of my busy schedule.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**


	3. Chapter 3

The snowmobile exploded out of the cave like a rocket, bouncing up again when it hit the surface. Her suspension was phenomenal and they were cresting over the frosted fields within minutes. Had time not been so sensitive and an armed helicopter in hot pursuit somewhere above, it could be an enjoyable ride.

Snow was falling in the opposite direction, causing Cobalt to strain his concentration on the path ahead. There were an abundance of trees around, but they had been spaced apart far enough that he could make course corrections well before any danger of running into one. It was still considered dangerous going at such speed. The ice on the trunks would feel as if they crashed right into the side of a concrete wall and there wouldn't be enough of either to scrape off the ground.

Schein had to hold onto a pair of handles bolted to the side and lean forward to avoid the awkward notion of having to wrap his arms around the Commando's waist. The cold feeling his body had hated for weeks now had disappeared and replaced by welcoming warmth that was so comforting that he had to turn down the battery heater in the undersuit. His eyes lulled closed with the heat dulling his senses in hopes of making up all the sleep debt his body had accumulated during the time in the freezing cell. It was impossible to doze in such frigid temperatures.

Twenty minutes into the ride, more trouble struck.

"Cobalt One, we've got a problem. The VTOL's been shot down and our optics survived long enough for us to tell that the Frieden know that it's unmanned." Two called over the headset.

"Shit," One had hoped that the ploy would buy at least another half hour so that the _Audacious_ would be well out of suspecting range by the time all the pieces were put together. "We're still ten minutes out. Track the helo,"

"Negative One," This was the stern voice of the _Audacious_ ' captain, "The bastard slipped away just as the VTOL was destroyed."

"The moment it shows back up, you tell me."

They rapidly approached the coastline where the mountains loomed overhead. Cobalt hoped the cover would conceal their additional movement, but many things weren't working in his favor. One was that the moonlight glistened on the white ground and their trail would easily be spotted and followed. The snowfall had remained constant since the start of the trip and using the headlights could alleviate the fact that his tinted visor was hindering his driving ability, but flipping it on made it the only light source within miles of remote ground and gave the overhanging helo an easy interception.

Both of those options were about to become feasible when Schein noticed a growing white star just off their two o'clock. It beckoned as if it were a singing primarina, calling him towards it.

Stars didn't grow though.

"Bogey just reappeared on your two!" Captain Harken shouted over the comms, "Cobalt One, take evasive action, he's heading straight for your position!"

The helo circled above before descending right above the treetops and homing a matching pace so that it was roughly thirty feet ahead. On its underbelly, a pair of turrets descended from flaps and opened fire, the flashes from the barrels assaulting his vision.

Bullets stitched the ground a split second in front, kicking up tiny plumes of snow as Cobalt steered hard left, closer to the attacking aircraft. There were plenty of trees for cover, but he would have to focus on not crashing and the helicopter's gunner would just had to funnel him into a kill box to cut the escape short.

After a moment when the gunners had realized that the turrets were going to be ineffective, they quickly retracted and it was replaced by a single four tubed rocket pod.

"Shit,"

Firing rapidly, the rockets discharged, closing up the distance with the gunner trying to time it so that the shots would be lead on his target. Cobalt would end up driving them right into the path of an explosive warhead. He decided to throw off the rhythm by decelerating and then zigzagging far out while trying to mute the loud popping explosions that struck the frosty ground not ten feet from their vehicle. The randomization continued even as he heard Harken over the radio giving the weapons officer down in the ship's TAO with the order to fire.

Two miles ahead, the hidden _Audacious_ ' starboard missile airframe rose out of its cradle and flung a single warhead into the sky.

Designed for interception of large to small targets at long range, the Spear missile was widespread in the Federation Mlitary, being able to conduct pinpoint strikes or attack multiple targets with the utmost precision. It ate up the distance between the ship and the helo in seconds, appearing like a burning corona in the shadowy sky before homing in right on the aircraft. It hit right in the fuselage's center, igniting the volatile fuel and ordinance in a brilliant fireball before gravity took hold of the burning hulk. The helicopter plummeted out of the sky like a brick, crashing into a cluster of trees just to their left. Debris fell all over Cobalt's path and he swerved hard right to avoid one of the tail rotors bouncing right in their path intent on cleaving their ride in two.

Without any sign of visible pursuers, Cobalt flipped the lights on and shot through a narrow gap in the mountainside to provide a clear view of the open water. Just over a half mile away lay the _Audacious_.

Sleek and contoured, the Federation's newest class of stealth frigates were among the most advanced and state-of-the-art warships to sail the seas. Her low profile engine output and higher speed from powerful engines made her unlike any other vessel. Special suppression systems allowed hydrophones and other acoustic sensors to pick her up although on the exterior she produced enough noise as a food processor.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," Schein grunted.

"Captain, hostile air is down."

"We have a visual, there's still a mile of ice you need to cross to the RHIB hangar. I'm readying a team now,"

"Negative Captain," Cobalt said, "Snowmobile's controls are shot to shit, I can't slow down."

"Can still pick you up,"

"We lose our momentum now, you'll be thawing us out in the infirmary!"

"That's leaving a two hundred foot gap,"

"I got this," Cobalt replied, "Get the retrieval team into the bay and move Audacious onto a nine zero vector from our position. I'm gonna have to guide her in."

"They're standing by,"

He had noticed it when the helicopter had crashed, sending a wall of shrapnel right in their direction. Due to the narrow confines of the small ravine, there was no way to go except right through the wall of lead. Afterwards he had run a diagnostic over their vehicle as they moved and found that for whatever reason, the sharp metal had sliced through the engine's braking systems just in front of his legs. The only way to completely stop it was to either shut off the engine or let it run out of fuel. Both options took time and it was something they couldn't afford.

He cranked the accelerator to the maximum and leaned backwards as the snowmobile skittered out onto the ice. Ahead lay the _Audacious_ , with a large rectangle of light on her side close to the stern.

Cobalt centered on the side door and leaned back towards Schein, "We're about to go over open water, so lean back when I tell you to," He got a tap on the shoulder in reply.

The surface of the ice had visible grooves that made every bump feel like a jostling hit from an angry machoke. Rather than an abstract change from ice to ocean, it gradually waned from soft to a frothy layer that was the consistency of a slushie. The metal studs and the propulsion found no purchase with only their momentum, the slick surface and the minimal amount of thrust they got out of the tracks to keep them going.

"Here we go," Cobalt cranked the motor until it screamed in protest with Schein following his lead in tilting back. There was a large fan of slurry ice that plumed behind them, making it look like a giant angry white ninetales.

The water came up quicker than he expected, but the snowmobile's engine performed flawlessly with both men's weight keeping the skis from going into the water. Cobalt had snowmobile skipped before, as this practice was called, similar to rock skipping on a pond, but never with a passenger twice his weight behind and with the stakes so high.

Yet the engine performed flawlessly and they cruised across the smooth surface of the pond as if it was built for the task. Drawing closer to the corvette, Cobalt realized that they were going too fast towards the garage as the ship's beam filled their surroundings. At their present speed, hitting the safety barrier on the side would launch them both off like catapults, completely ignoring the seatbelt.

If he killed the engine too early, their momentum keeping them above the surface would fade quickly and they'd sink to a freezing death.

"Ready?"

"Affirmative,"

Cobalt quickly shut off the engine and hoped for the best. On something like this, he needed a good calculation from an expert on when to decelerate without brakes, this was being done by raw instinct.

As the snowmobile slowed down to quickly close the distance in between the edge of the ice floe, the awaiting crew must've thought he and Schein were bent on suicide.

He was a little off; they hit the ship's ramp and crawled right out, still not being able to stop. Acting without thinking, Cobalt felt the release for the seatbelts and shoved the two off the seat. The riderless vehicle smashed into the back wall with a loud bang, leaving a very visible dent in the side before its tracks slowed down to a stop.

Schein had not expected the sudden push and was winded when he hit the floor, but both were alive without prominent injuries.

For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped before the ship's crew, dressed in their Federation work uniforms swarmed the pair with medical equipment. They waded through the ankle-deep water as the door alarm sounded with large hydraulics sealing it closed. After an audible hiss, the ship was drained and the irritating cold finally subsided, replaced by a dull warmth that both men were more than happy to welcome.

As Schein was escorted away by a pair of sailors, Cobalt was greeted by another man, this time wearing a digital camouflaged tanktop in green and blue. He carried a spare uniform and tossed it at his feet. The nametag on his chest beside his rank insignia read OAK.

"Job well done Cobalt One." He flashed a cocky grin, "Couldn't have done it better myself."

"Cobalt Two," One greeted back, trying to hold back a sneer of his own, "How were the showers?"

"Pretty fantastic. Water's still warm." He produced a pair of beer cans from his pockets, "Thought you might enjoy this,"

"Not right now. I need a shower and as much food as my body can take," The Commando pulled on his shirt with his own nametag reading KETCHUM.

"I'll let them know. Debrief's after your food and drink. Commander and Captain says to take your time, you've earned it." Gary Oak said, turning around to head down the corridor.

"We're not rock-paper-scissoring this next time!" Ash Ketchum called out as he left.

* * *

 **Mission success. Hoped everyone enjoyed the chapter as much as I did in writing it.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was nearly two in the morning when Ash pulled in to one of the driveways on the quiet suburban neighborhood. Getting out; he took a deep breath.

Hoenn air had a slightly salty smell from the nearby sea and the humidity was a nice welcome from the subzero environment on the planet's north pole where he had been seventy two hours ago. Just thinking about it made him shiver.

He opened the door as quietly as possible and stepped through. A machine in the laundry room just before the main hall was humming as it dried a load with an empty white basket in front. All lights were off except for the tiny night one situated at the other end of the entrance.

Entering the master bedroom, he looked over to his right where the king-sized bed lay. A large lump on the right side rose and fell as its occupant was blissfully sleeping.

The shower in the bathroom beckoned to him, but he didn't want to turn it on to wake his wife. Although they had been married for a little more than a year; Ash had missed two full months on his and May's time together due to being called out of the reserves.

May Ketchum, formerly Maple was the daughter of Norman Maple; a software billionaire tycoon whom he had rescued from a hostage crisis almost two years ago. Since then, a mutual attraction had blossomed into a drama-filled love story culminating into their marriage. Although she had come from a wealthy family, their house was sparsely decorated to the point where the home felt comfortable and everything was appreciated.

Ash heard her stir as he set his duffel down and crossed over to her side. May's eyes fluttered open and she slowly brought one of her gentle hands to his when he stood next to her.

"Hey,"

"Hey love," She looked up at him as he leaned down to give her a tender kiss, "I'm home."

"Thank Arceus. I missed you,"

"Me too. I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk those last few days."

"How was the drug bust in Lavender Town?"

"We caught the bad guys. Funny you ask, one of them was an old associate of Harley's gang and was wanted on Hoenn's watch list for years. Once he's served his sentence at a Fed prison, he's coming here for double time."

"You want some coffee? Have you eaten?" She began to sit up.

"I'm fine." He gently pushed her back down, "I ate on the flight here and to be honest I'm extremely tired. Surprised I'm not a zombie already."

May's light giggle was like music to his ears, "Then we better get some sleep."

"I better take a shower," He moved a second laundry basket beside him as he pulled his shirt off, "I probably smell like shit,"

"Yes you do. But thanks for being considerate in not waking me up for that. You're a trained soldier and obviously failed."

Ash chuckled before giving her another kiss, "I guess I need more training on that."

* * *

The next morning, the couple lay underneath the sheets with limbs entwined with one another.

"So…" May began, "You're home again. What do you want to do?"

"Hmm," He brought an arm all the way down her naked body, "I think we just did everything,"

That earned a chuckle from both of them. She rested her chin in the crook of his neck and kissed his jawline. Her fingers traced the outline of the lightning bolt tattoos at the tops of his shoulder blades.

"I'm glad we shut the door from now on. We'll be in confession for an hour with Reverend Young next door if he hears us again,"

May laughed. Even though the minister for the chaplain had humorously told them about hearing the sounds of their lovemaking late one night, he was a kind gentleman and gave them a blessing on their young marriage.

"Honestly, I really don't know. The whole time I thought about you while on deployment and all the things we'd do as a couple together and now I can't think of one thing." Ash frowned, "Don't you have Dawn coming over for dinner again tonight? It's Friday,"

"I can tell her that it won't work today. She'll understand."

"Why don't you invite her over anyways. I'd actually like to see if the rest of my team can come over for a barbeque."

"How about Derek's?"

Ash smiled, knowing they'd be in love with their favorite pizza and wings dive, "Yeah, that'd work." He reached over for his phone, "I'll let them know."

* * *

Derek's Pizza & Wings was a dive bar situated on Petalburg City's famous boardwalk. Here there was a long line of boutiques and fad shopping centers that attracted visitors all around Hoenn. It was also next to the marina, which accommodated massive freighters and cruise ships as well as one of Hoenn's three primary naval stations. With the military installation and Wagner Air Force base close by, the boardwalk's bars, hotels, amusement parks and shops were a magnet for service personnel on leave.

Ash spotted Dawn's sedan in the parking area and guided their own vehicle right next to hers.

"Go reserve the table,"

May nodded and got out to head inside. Ash watched her go before walking up to the parking meter and dropping enough coins inside to grant three hours of hassle free parking.

The interior of the place was charming. It wasn't touristy like some of the other places since the owner had inherited it from his father. Locals hung out here and that was the way Derek Junior liked it.

Sports memorabilia of different Hoenn soccer, baseball clubs lined the walls and there was plenty of the hometown favorite Broadstone University gear. Signed helmets, jerseys and photos of memorable plays both recent and long time ago.

Derek had told Ash and May that Friday through Sunday nights were quite packed as the night went on, so they had instead opted to go a little earlier in the evening. Ash got a reply from all three of his team members, saying that they would be there and sent the address.

Towards the back of the place were a couple of pool tables and a dartboard with a long wooden countertop for a bar that could seat up to fifteen.

May immediately spotted Dawn at one of the tables in the center. The place was rather quiet, but by Derek's estimates, it was about to get very busy in the next couple hours.

"May!" Dawn squealed, jumping up and flinging her arms around her best friend. "I'm so glad you didn't decide to cancel our dinner!"

"Me too!" May was always happy around her.

Dawn Berlitz had known her since they were kids and they had been inseparable, even when her protective father disapproved and tried to break their friendship.

She had deep blue eyes and slightly bluish black hair that fell around her neck at shoulder length. Her body was slim and she stood at May's height of five foot nine.

While normally, she was into dressing up, the more casual environment had her wear a gray Broadstone hoodie and jeans with sneakers. She wore gold earrings and her face was devoid of makeup, save for a small bit of sparkling lip gloss.

Dawn owned a specialty poffin bakery, a Sinnohan treat that catered mainly to pokemon pets. Her new bachelors in pokemon science allowed her small local business to garner national attention and she was well in the works of a successful enterprise despite her insistence that she did not wish to make her company a chain.

"How have you been?"

"Pretty good,"

"You're lighting up like a Christmas tree," Dawn gave off a smirk, "Is your hubby back home?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Ash said, appearing at the other end.

"Ash!" Dawn ran right over and gave him a tight hug. Even though he was married; it was an open secret that his wife's best friend still had a crush on the Commando, ever since he rescued the both of them nearly two years back. "You're back!"

"For now,"

"Did you make up for all that time you've been gone?"

"Dawn!" May gasped, "Stop it!"

She ignored his wife, "Because if you ever get tired of May…you have my number."

Ash smiled, a bit flustered at the suggestive inquiry, "That is a most tempting offer Dawn, but I'll have to pass."

"Alright," Dawn winked and sat back down next to May. Ash sat on her other side, "Anyway, why did you ask me to reserve six seats?"

"A few friends of mine are in town on service leave. I thought it would be good for us to unwind a bit after being deployed for almost two months."

"What did you do?" Dawn asked, before covering her mouth in realization of what she just said.

"It's alright. I can tell you that we busted a narcotics operation in Lavender Town," Although that was far from the truth, it was his cover story and he had gone over it with his squad due to the sensitivity of the operation.

Before she could ask again, another man approached their table with an easygoing smile. Derek was in his late fifties and ran his late father's pizza and wing bar since he was twenty-two. Ash had learned that he was a former Hoenn Army Corporal and had served a couple of tours before being discharged to run the place after his father's unexpected death. He wore a shirt stained with pizza sauce and chalky streaks of flour were on his gloved hands.

"Well if it isn't the boss himself!" Derek clapped Ash on the back, "And you brought your wife and another lovely lady to my place!"

"What's happening Derek?"

"Same old same old, you know? I'm glad you're back again!"

"Me too. I've got a few of my buddies coming in and they'll be hungry."

"I bet!" The older man roared with delight, "Well flag one of my girls whenever you're ready and don't worry about the beer. It's on me as thanks for keeping our country and yours safe!"

"I really appreciate that Derek."

He nodded and turned to head back into the kitchen.

The door to the place opened again and three men strode in. The first thing May and Dawn gawk at was their size. Each was easily taller than either of them and just as big as Ash.

He didn't seem put off by their rather intimidating statures and waved them over.

"Ashy boy!" The leader of the three clamped his arms around Ash's back harshly before they parted and did what was described as a hilarious ritual of a handshake. "Long time no see!"

"Hell yeah," Ash moved on to the other two guys, with a more laid back fist bumps, "Thanks for coming."

"I love the place," The taller one of the bunch said, "Has a homey feel to it,"

"This is Derek's. All military get fifteen percent off,"

"Oh so you're a miser now?" The third man asked, causing the others to laugh.

"If it makes you feel better, the beer is free and I'm picking up the tab."

"I'll drink to that!"

Then the four guys turned to the two women at their designated table.

"Well…hello there," The leader greeted rather flirtatiously, "So which one of you two stole Ashy boy's heart here?" He stuck a finger at May, "I'm going to guess you."

"That's the other reason I invited you all here. I want you to meet my wife, May." He pointed to Dawn, "And this is May's best friend, Dawn Berlitz."

"You sure picked a cute one," The tallest of the three commented, extending his hand out, "Brock…Brock Harrison. As you probably already know, I'm a Commando, just like Ash here."

"It's nice to meet you Brock," May shook his hand and was surprised when Brock pulled her in for a hug.

"Same. And we're family. Remember?"

"Sure,"

"That's Brock for ya," The brown haired man and leader of the trio chuckled, "I know we've already met May, but I'm Gary Oak. Best damn Commando on the field."

"Or so he claims," The third one, a shorter blond quipped, "He always inflates his ego like a quilfish whenever he spots someone he's about to hit on."

"That is totally wrong," Despite denying, he was still unable to tear his eyes away from Dawn.

"That's Trip Urban," Ash introduced, "He's the newest on the team, but already quite seasoned."

"You bet your ass I am,"

"Now that I've made introductions," Ketchum continued, just as one of Derek's girls had arrived at their table with their food, "Who's hungry?"

* * *

Three pizzas and pitchers of beer later, everyone leaned back, fully sated from the meal. Ash snatched up the tab before any of his fellow squadmates had a chance to even think about reaching for their own wallets.

"That might be the best pizza I've ever eaten," Gary admitted, "I think it would give Lou's a run for their money,"

"What? Hell no!" Trip protested, "You can't replace Lou's!"

"Try me."

"Why you!" Trip growled, but remained sitting down. Everyone else laughed at his antics. May and Dawn could hardly believe that the four boys in front of them, including her husband were battle-hardened soldiers. They were here acting like a bunch of teenage boys. By the time everyone ate their fill, the conversation went from sports to families to hilarious stories that embarrassed at least one person at the table. May and Dawn felt like they had been integrated into the group as they talked among one another as if they had known everyone for years.

By then, the place was starting to become crowded, so they piled all of their dishes together for the busboy before leaving.

"Hey you guys want to do some shopping?" Ash asked the group, "The boardwalk has a ton of shops where you can get some really cool stuff."

"You know how I feel about that," Brock said.

"I know."

"I love shopping here, even though I can't come as often was I want to!" Dawn squealed, "Please guys! Bet you'll find at least something you like!"

"I'm game," Gary chimed in; Ash noticed he had edged himself quite close to her.

Trip seemed to agree, "Alright. We're on leave anyway and we got another hour on our meters."

* * *

The boardwalk was quite active tonight. Crowds moved about as some were laden with shopping bags while others were merely window browsing.

Gary was telling a story on one operation where he had to stop a tank from crossing a bridge while Dawn, Brock and Trip listened intently. The latter two already knew that it was highly exaggerated, but the events were quite true and done to impress Dawn. Ash and May trailed slightly behind with their hands held and enjoying the light breeze with their friends animatedly chatting in front.

"Hey, there's a jewelry shop at the end of the pier," May piped up, "I absolutely love some sapphire earrings they had in there the other day. Can we go and see if they're still on sale?"

"Sure," Ash agreed, "Hey guys, May wants to go and see some earrings at the jewelry place down there," He pointed to the place, "You guys are welcome to come too, but we're planning on retiring after this."

"Yeah, we'll come with you." Gary said. Dawn nodded too.

The store was like any other place that sold the expensive trinkets; glass cases that were bulletproof. Each one sparkled as they were displayed on their pedestals with signs showing their asking price.

The two women running the store greeted them warmly when they entered. Brock and Trip went straight over to the watches section with one of the women while Dawn had convinced Gary to look at a pearl necklace. Ash and May were deep in discussion about the sapphire earrings and he nearly popped his eyes out of his sockets when he heard they were fifteen thousand dollars.

"It is beautiful though," He had to admit, "That is way more than what we can afford!"

"Oh come on!" May whined, "It looks so pretty!"

"You better listen to your lady Ashy boy!" Gary said, hearing the commotion from across the store with Dawn, "Rule number one of your marriage is to listen to your wife! Over and over again!"

"I thought it was find a woman you hate and then buy her a house!"

Gary made to reply and the woman helping them heard the door open and thus left them to greet the new arrivals. They were getting close to closing, so it almost seemed odd that more people would be coming this late.

A terrified gasp caught everyone's attention.

"NOBODY MOVE!" There were four of them, all dressed in black clothing with masks concealing their faces. What had really caught their attention were the four wicked looking automatic pistols they held out leveled at everyone.

Instinctively, all four Commandos shifted position and stances, each one moved relatively close to one of the civilians in sort of a protective mode.

May felt a sudden rush of adrenaline and her heart threatened to hammer itself through her chest. Ash gently put an arm on her hip, giving her a reassuring tap.

One of the women running the store was moving to one of the desks slowly. There was a small panic button that automatically sent a distress call to the police in the event of a robbery.

"Don't you press that button lady!" One of the robbers moved right over to her and Brock, keeping his weapon up at them, "Anyone who tries to call the cops is getting a bullet! Are we clear?"

"EVERYONE KEEP YOUR HANDS UP!"

"Keys," The third robber said to the lady next to Trip, "Give me the keys!"

Shaking; she slowly reached inside her own pocket and handed over a full ring, each containing one with access to each case.

"What are we taking boss?" He asked.

"All of it! Give the keys here!"

Rather than hand it over, the robber flicked his wrist, tossing the chain across the shop, where the apparent leader was ready to unlock and began their heist.

It was all the distraction Ash needed. May noticed that he seemed to be fidgeting with his hands, but she saw that Trip was keeping an eye on his leader close by.

He was giving hand signals.

The decision was set in stone as the robber next to Trip and the lady that had the keys just briefly took his eyes over those he was covering.

The blond sprang into action in the blink of an eye, closing the distance quickly to grab his shoulders and yank him down to the ground. At the same time; Gary's man noticed what was happening first and turned to Dawn, his hand already on the trigger.

Oak knew what was coming and quickly grabbed Dawn, throwing both her and himself behind one of the shelves. The gun boomed like a cannon in the tight confines of the store and a bullet ripped through the air where the two of them had once been.

Brock lunged at the same time Ash did, going for his man. He easily wrestled the pistol out of his grip and pinned him against one of the jewelry cases.

The leader tried his best to get a bead on Ash as he went straight for the gun, wrapping a hand around and pressing hard. He heard the sound of the man's fingers breaking and used the robber's muffled scream of pain to drive them both down to the floor.

The final man who was on Gary had approached his hiding place on the pretense of gunning both of the heroes down.

Like a scyther exploding out for its prey, he emerged lighting quick, grabbing the man's shirt and dragging him over the counter. Dawn shrieked as he kicked the gun out of his hands in the action that caught the thug off guard and proceeded to put him in a chokehold.

His prey thrashed, trying to hit Gary's arm with his free hand, but he continued in the bind, shrugging off the rather pitiful hits. A few moments later, his movements slowed before relaxing as the man slipped into unconsciousness.

Gary sprang to his feet, grabbing the pistol and pointing it directly at the prone form.

"Clear." He shouted.

"Clear!" Brock said, keeping his own man pinned.

"Clear,"

"Clear."

The whole takedown happened in a span of ten seconds; leaving each woman completely stunned at what just transpired.

Trip and Brock each herded their man to the shop's entrance, where Ash held the robber's gun to cover them. They were ordered to lie down on the floor as Ash patted each one down for additional concealed weapons.

"Do you have plastic ties?" He asked one of the women.

"Y-Yes," She stammered.

"Go get them please,"

"Of course…" The lady quickly vanished into one of the doors and reappeared with a bag.

Ash quickly bound the three men's hands together with Brock and Trip covering him as Gary dragged the knocked out guy next to them.

"Are you alright?" Brock asked him.

"Yeah…I'm good." He looked around, "Everyone else okay?"

Everyone else affirmed that they were unharmed as Ash called the police and gave them their location and what happened. As Brock and Trip assisted the arriving officers with putting the robbers away in their cruisers, Gary went over to a still shaking Dawn.

"I'm sorry for putting you in harm's way,"

"Don't please…" She pleaded, "If you haven't done that, I might have been shot or even killed! You saved my life!" Tears managed to escape out of her eyes as she jumped out, wrapping arms around Gary's body in a hug that was desperate for comfort.

* * *

The red and blue colored police lights flashed in the streets as more law enforcement were arriving at the crime scene. Ash was giving his statement to another man in brown hair and gray eyes wearing an all too familiar uniform. Despite speaking on a formal matter, May recognized him and knew why he was so relaxed.

"I still think trouble always finds a way to you," Captain Brendan Decker joked, "Even when you leave me to run your task force, you're getting a piece of the action whether or not you've got a uniform on."

"It's crazy when you think about it," Ash agreed, "If May hadn't gone to see a pair of earrings, who knows what might have happened?"

Brendan Decker was Ash's former number two when they founded a specialized police team that went after Petalburg and south Hoenn's most dangerous criminal organizations and sophisticated crimes. Under the Commando's leadership, they took down the notorious Cacturne crime syndicate and were still in the process of hunting down its remnants. Ash had groomed Brendan to eventually be in charge of the group and after additional candidates were recruited; the force had grown from five operatives to thirty five in almost two years.

"Anyway, that's all I've got for you guys, so everyone's free to go. Let's get a drink sometime when you're all available."

Ash gave him a fist bump, "I'll take you up on that. Say hi to your wife and kids for me."

"What an eventful day," Brock said as the group finally began to head away from the collage of police cruisers and flashing lights. People were gathered around the scene and were quickly shooed away by some of the officers. Nobody paid much attention to the six leaving, which helped put their nerves at ease.

"I think it's time we head back home," Trip said. Everyone else voiced their agreement.

"I'll make sure Dawn makes it safe back to her place," Gary declared, "She's still a little shaken by what's happened."

"Thank you Gary."

As the group began to exchange goodbyes, there was a chorus of four ringtones that began to echo amongst them. Each Commando reached into their pockets and pulled out their phones. Their eyes widened at the news. Both girls knew that whatever they were looking at, or whom was calling, didn't bring good news.

"Shit."

* * *

 **What a chapter! Sorry this took so long to come out. Hope everyone's enjoying the story so far.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose as always!**


	5. Chapter 5

After receiving the emergency calls; the four Commandos went their separate ways. Gary had stayed true to his word and escorted a still-shaken Dawn back to her home while Brock and Trip headed to Wagner Air Force Base in order to set up the airplane that would take them wherever they were headed.

Ash went right back home, where he threw in several sets of clothing along with a handful of other personal items he would need while away. There was no telling by where or how long he would be gone, but by the tone in his CO's voice, it seemed like it was going to be for a while.

May saw him in the main hall by the master bedroom as he took down one of the paintings he had bid on during an auction while they were on their honeymoon in Alola. It depicted part of the famous Kahkai Beach on Hau'oli City's east side with the night skyline in the background. The moon shone brightly, casting a beautiful image into a canvas that he had gotten for almost a thousand dollars. Looking out on the market; she found that the piece of art had once sold for six times what they had bid for it.

Behind the painting was his personal safe; where he kept their marriage documents, birth certificates and other things of significant importance.

May also saw that he had stacks of various currencies inside, along with a full rack of various handgun models with enough ammunition to load each one several times over.

He took one of them out, along with a full magazine and set it aside.

"How long are you going to be gone?" She asked.

"I don't know. CO said whatever happened in Pallet is pretty bad. But we're actually going elsewhere to do work."

He packed the rest of his things in silence and turned to her. The pistol was scooped up in his hand and extended out to her, butt first.

"Ash?" She gave him a cautious look, although she well knew what he was about to do.

"You're going to need it?"

"You're taking me with you?"

"No…but you're not staying here." His face turned to concern, "Listen. I know you know how to use that and you don't need me to tell you to do so unless you feel like your own life or someone else is in danger. There are some very bad people out there who will do whatever it takes to give them an edge over us and they won't hesitate to put those we love in danger."

"You think they might come by the house?"

"I wouldn't put it past some of them," Ash agreed, "Which is why we need to go soon. I'll give you a few minutes to get whatever you need."

May nodded, now a little nervous at Ash's words, but knew that he wasn't lying. At the same time, she still didn't regret marrying him. He loved his job just as much as he loved her and she was fully aware of what she signed up for when they decided to tie the knot.

A few minutes later; she had packed a suitcase and wheeled it out to him, where he put it inside their car. The drive to the airport was done in silence as Ash put his head to the side window to catch a light nap before the long trip overseas. As soon as he stepped aboard the plane, it was going to be a long flight of briefings and going over details on the upcoming mission that lay ahead.

May forced herself to focus on the road, despite the swirl of emotions threatening to boil over in her head. Ash had just gotten back less than a week ago from a couple months on deployment and now here he was again, selflessly throwing himself into harm's way to protect those who couldn't do it themselves. She yearned every day that he was safe by the end and would be there for her to fall asleep in his embrace. Every time her body was in his arms; she felt as if all worries and fears would melt and wash away like water.

She giggled to herself softly when Ash's lips curled into a smile as he slept. He always looked adorable, even though he was a hardened warrior whenever awake.

* * *

"We're here," May whispered as they turned onto another street beside Petalburg's Airport. On the other side was Wagner…home to the southern air command of Hoenn's Air Force and shared by a joint Federation garrison that was part of its fueling station in this part of the world. It was late at night, so the normally busy airport had zero planes in the sky.

Ash awoke and flashed his credentials to the guard at the initial checkpoint. They were waved in and he headed straight for a hangar, where a large two engine gray jet was sitting on the tarmac directly in front.

As soon as they parked in the lot, May heard her name being called and turned to be embraced by an older man.

"Father…"

Norman Maple was May's father and head of a software company that produced many sophisticated systems for many large corporations across the world. Much of his work benefited Hoenn's infrastructure and his new agreement with the Federation vastly improved their own as well.

His overprotectiveness had caused him to cross swords with Ash when he and May first began dating, although it took her rescue from the hands of the Cacturne Syndicate for them to come to an understanding. Ash was more than pleased to now be on much better terms with his father-in-law.

"It's alright May. You'll be alright."

"Thanks for coming Norman," Ash said.

"Of course. But what is going on?"

"The Federation is on high threat alert due to an attack. We've been called in to a battle ready state since,"

"By who? Is there a war going on?"

"I don't know," Ash answered, "And I hope not." He gestured to May, "I have to get going. C'mere,"

She gave a longing sigh as he pulled her into his arms, "I'm going to miss you,"

"Me too. I'll call as soon as I can. Be safe and look out for your father and Max."

They shared a brief kiss before he turned away and walked into the hangar.

May felt as if a part of her was leaving with him when he disappeared inside the airplane's door.

* * *

The plane took off thirty minutes later, rumbling down the runway before pitching its nose up and accelerating its way into the sky. It eased off the ascent when it reached thirty thousand feet and began its heading west.

Inside, its cabin had been dimmed so that just a few lights were on overhead. All of Cobalt was on the side seats, checking over the gear that had been placed on the floor in front. Aside from them, there were few others aboard, save for the flight crew. The majority of space was occupied by enormous pallets full of varying supplies.

Everybody had some way to pass the time. Gary and Brock slept while Ash and Trip had moved one of the crates to play a quick game of cards.

Midway through, the team's briefing tablet began to ring. Upon setting a connection, Ash awoke his other two team members and all four crowded around to the weary looking face of Lieutenant Commander Surge.

The longtime leader of the Commandos; Surge had been Ash and Gary's CO when they first joined the elite special forces group and he had quite a reputation for being strict. Although they were supposed to be the best of the best, the vacant position after the previous Commando's leader decided to retire had nobody more fit to lead them than Surge himself. Under his guidance, their already famous reputation grew even more, with additional successes and tales of Commandos being invincible and unbeatable, even when it was not the case.

Surge had implemented the use of unorthodox tactics and _de facto_ leadership with his approval on specific operations. This gave the Commandos virtually complete control of the operations they were assigned. They could complete it in any way possible as long as there were favorable results.

Inevitably, there was some resistance to the approach, but it was hard to argue that they were incapable of doing their job. In fact, many believed that they were the only ones in the world who could pull things like that off.

"Good to see you Cobalt. In a few hours, you're gonna have to be hitting the ground running."

"Where are we headed?"

"Vargazs; the Frieden capital city. You're set for additional security for the delegates."

"Delegates?" Gary asked, "What is there to negotiate about? The Frieden attacked Pallet Town!"

"It's been unconfirmed. You and I know that there are laboratories there that conduct weapons research and the destruction could've easily been an accident. We've lost contact with the staff there."

"I guess that means we're going to try and talk our way out of their hardline ways,"

"Correct. Since you're in the heart of enemy territory, it's your top priority to keep the delegates alive alongside the Cabinet of Protection. So you will devise an exfil plan if things get awry. Any questions?"

The Commandos shook their heads.

"Good. Tracker says you'll be landing in the good part of six hours. I'll have more info when you arrive."

* * *

 **Sorry for such a short chapter and a long wait. Things have been busy, especially with traveling.**

 **Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**


	6. Chapter 6

Vargazs was an enormous urban sprawl. Located right in the heart of Frieden territory, seventeen million people lived in the vicinity of a pair of rivers that split into separate channels when it had come from the mountains that were barely visible from the north.

Skyscrapers dotted the landscape with night lights putting on an impressive show of a multitude of colors. Although he couldn't see them, Ash knew by previous briefings when they were at war that the Frieden had countless military garrisons that guarded its capital city both within and out of its main vicinity. It wasn't the largest metro area in the country, but its location and status made it a prime target for hostile invasions.

He had never actually been inside the Frieden before. The previous terrible war they had pitted against the Federation and its allies had climaxed at neighboring Kalos, where an unexpected change in leadership a handful of years ago created an armistice that was begrudgingly signed by both sides. The Federation had never stepped foot onto Frieden soil, although it had come very close to launching an all out assault.

Such an operation of a large country was estimated to cost the lives of four hundred thousand soldiers.

Like it defined; the armistice was only a temporary truce. The Empire was beginning to break up, with several pockets of warring factions already hampering its economy even today. Frieden leadership had realized that without such vital assets to produce everyday goods, let alone war machines, it was going to be drawn into a war of attrition they couldn't win.

Both sides knew that the resumed conflict was inevitable. The Frieden were people who remembered grudges well. In all irony, this armistice was not to buy time for a lasting peace. It was merely a breather for both sides to rearm themselves for an even more devastating fight. There were celebrations of course in the Federation, Unova and its other pact members, but the military were giving the truce a cooler approach, already anticipating another conflict.

Since the end; the Frieden had managed to stabilize itself for a couple of years, rebuilding its economy to support itself and the other smaller nations that it "protected" Now once again, it had taken a hard hit and many of its people were unsatisfied with the current leadership in power.

That was where Admiral Ingridson Alvero had jumped into the picture. Known for her brash, cunning tactics, she quickly ascended into power on the Frieden's Navy. Since it had been such an important part of the Empire's offensive during the previous war, it was only natural that she nurtured its proud military back to its former strength. Just a few months ago, she had been made (secretly usurped the title) the _de facto_ leader of its armed forces as a whole.

Anyone who refused to tolerate a woman as the supreme commander was swiftly disciplined and it was rumored she would fit her staff with personnel who seldom questioned her orders.

Alvero's first priority was the Navy. Covert Federation spies had quickly confirmed some of their leaderships' worst fears. She had established three additional shipyards on the Frieden's southern coast and building a massive fleet at an astonishing rate. Rumor had it that the Empire's secret police division, Ministry Unit Nine or MUN had sworn loyalty to the officer, silencing any political opponents who challenged her ambitions.

The _Ultimatum_ was her flagship, a supercruiser of sorts. While it wasn't the biggest ship in their fleet, it had the most powerful weapons and packed enough armor to take on an entire Federation flotilla of destroyers.

* * *

"Just so you're all aware," Trip said from his side, "We just crossed into Frieden airspace. Anything you broadcast will be intercepted and monitored."

"You're gonna change that right?"

"I'm gonna try,"

While it was true that Cobalt was a team assigned to shadow the envoys sent to broker an additional truce at the planned summit, they had a secondary, more important objective in hacking into the Frieden's database. There was no doubt that the Empire had been secretly working on experimental weaponry and other informants such as Schein had suggested recent tests could pose an immense danger to the Federation and the navies of other factions.

Trip's background in electronics and cyber warfare made him an invaluable addition to Cobalt. The younger Commando was a couple years behind in experience, but his photographic memory and timely hacking skills had saved their skin more than once in the past.

He would be the only one not to accompany the team while they escorted the two envoys assigned to them. They would be provided a stateroom in the People's Palace, where the summit would be held. That was where he would work his magic. The only catch was that he had to be a ghost. Leave zero evidence that any of the network had been tapped into.

Ash trusted his squadmate to get the job done.

* * *

They landed at an airstrip close to the center of the main city and disembarked down to a pair of vehicles awaiting them. The flight had taken up most of the night and part of the morning, so the afternoon sun hung low in the sky on a cloudless day.

Beside the vehicles, there was another airplane parked on the ramp beside theirs. It was a bigger, different model that was painted gray and bore the flag of Kalos at the tip of its tail. Even further down were an array of a half dozen other nations that were participating in the summit.

"Captain Ketchum," The man at the bottom greeted them, giving a grin from ear to ear, "Nice of you guys to show up."

"Can't be too late to the party." Ash offered his hand and was deftly surprised when he was pulled in for a gentle hug, "Should've known you were one of the envoys on behalf of the Feds. Your ear for languages is second to none."

"You know me Ash, I try and learn things as fast as I can draw them." He spotted Gary coming down the steps behind him, "Oak! What's happening my man?"

"Kicking ass, pickin up ladies, that's what! You're lookin good Sketch!"

Tracey Sketchit had been with both Ash and Gary when they first began training in the Federation military. He came from a wealthy background, with high expectations from his parents. What started out as a mild interest in politics caused them to constantly dump extracurricular activities to take up his childhood. While his wiry frame wasn't built for football and other physical sports, he found a forte in learning about the various cultures, watching pokemon and learning languages.

To break away from his controlling parents, he decided to enlist in an act of defiance which had prompted the expected reaction. Eventually, he would reconcile with them, but he had still made it through the Navy's basic training where he would meet Ash and Gary.

Soon, the three of them would go into Commando training together. Back then, Lieutenant Commander Surge had been their primary instructor and Tracey was one of his favorite to pick on, being the skinniest of the class. He constantly fell behind in drills, lost in combat exercises and endured quite the harsh punishments.

Ash and Gary encouraged him to stay strong, as physical capabilities weren't the only trait a Commando needed. Brightened by their pushing along with the rest of the class, he continued on, pushing past the hellish ordeal as best he could.

Unfortunately, the regimen had finally broken the man and he had rung the infamous bell. Another one would quit and not become one of the elite.

The strict aspect of the CO was part of the training, meant to weed out the weak. Surge had picked on him constantly, but even when he left after quitting, Tracey had made quite the impression on him.

After washing out, Sketchit went onboard one of the Navy's carriers stationed overseas, finding a job as a translator, deciphering Friedenese on intercepted communications. His intimate knowledge of the language helped the Department of Foreign Relations offer him a job as an assistant envoy to their embassy in Vargazs. While he was no Commando, Ash and Gary knew very well that he was capable of defending himself and thought that the ability to fight was a necessary skill in this part of the world with such a position.

"It's good to see all of you here." He looked up at Brock and Trip, "I know we haven't met yet, but I'm Tracey Sketchit, DFR's assistant envoy to the Frieden and your escorted tonight. Unfortunately, the envoy himself has suffered a stomach illness and won't be attending tonight. I am to take his place."

Brock and Trip shook hands with him, "It's nice to finally meet." The former said, "Ash and Gary talk a lot about you."

"I hope it's all good."

"It is."

Tracey gestured to the vehicles behind him, "Come. Let's get going."

* * *

"I counted a nest in the tower," Ash commented as Tracey guided their car out from the premises of the airfield, "And I'm assuming that there will be a Ministry car behind as well?"

"Yup. You should expect eyes and ears on your until you leave the sovereign territory."

"Great. They probably tapped this car."

"Nope." Tracey took a left turn on the street as the Ministry escort flashed their lights to clear the street traffic on the way, "This car's locked in a garage only accessible by the envoy and myself. Nothing could've gotten in there." He looked back at Trip, "Ash tells me you're the resident hacker. We'll have to be inconspicuous, but I'll make sure you get back to the stateroom where you can get to work."

The Unovan Commando smiled, "I'm your man."

"I take it you guys have a backup plan if things go south?" That was virtually inevitable, as hopes of having a permanent ceasefire were virtually moot.

"Never been to Vargazs before, so I don't know much of the layout. Are you able to give us hotzones and garrison locations? I have a feeling that getting out of there is going to be a maze of a trip."

Tracey shook his head, "Unfortunately, many of the bases that are really a threat are not visible to civilian maps. I can get you a layout of the city where you can stage a rendezvous. Imagine the Department of Protection will be covering the other envoy."

"Who's the other envoy?" Brock asked.

"The head of the DFR."

"Holy shit! Are you serious?"

"Shit must be bad."

"Yeah," The assistant envoy nodded, "Even he's dour about the outcome of these negotiations. The Emperor's fine with this but we all know that Admiral Alvero will not tolerate this summit. We're under the instructions of the President himself to send a message. The Admiral must hold back on her aggressive moves otherwise we are going to step in."

"She's definitely going to have something to say about all it." Ash agreed, "It probably won't brighten her day since we broke one of our convicted spies out of her favorite prison."

"What? Really? You have to talk about that."

"Over beers and another time." He turned serious, "What can you get for us?"

"Write all of it down and I can have it in your stateroom in an hour. Summit's in five, so you'll have plenty of time to collaborate. Remember…formal wear. That means dress whites."

* * *

Many hours later; the People's Palace sat in Vargazs' government district lay ahead, just two kilometers off the big main downtown plazas. A big wired fence surrounded a beautiful lawn and fountain in the center of a massive courtyard.

The main building was almost like a castle, with rising towers connected by bridges to each one. Each structure had a combination of bright blue and gold trim to give it an elegant motif. From what history Ash could recall about the place was that it had been built almost two hundred years ago when a war had united two dozen different belligerent clans under a single banner to form the first Frieden Empire. Since then, other territories had been absorbed into the hegemony and one of the reasons behind the war against the Federation was that it was looking north and west, towards Kalos for additional control of the region. World domination wasn't in their agenda, but their intended land goal upset many others. When they tried to fight, the Frieden were simply too strong. The people had a warlike past and much of their military strength lay in generations of bloodshed.

The People's Palace had since been upgraded to modern specifications, functioning as the residence of the Emperor. Those truly in power had their headquarters further down the borough.

Other observations he had made were propaganda posters on almost every street block, encouraging its civilians to support their military in an almost forcible manner and it was frequent to see trios to quins of uniformed Frieden soldiers on the sidewalk, chatting and shaking hands with other people. He wondered how many of them knew someone he had killed not five years ago.

Every now and then, Ash would see and then hear a fleet of fighter jets accelerating overhead. They'd crest the sky above the tallest buildings, passing over before delivering the familiar roar of engines as they delivered some sort of air show. They were the ever-familiar Raiders, the Frieden's primary attack jet and rival to the Fed's ASF-42 Golbat.

It seemed that Admiral Alvero was adamant on swaying the public opinion to her blunt approach. With all the tightly controlled show of militarism, all that was missing from her agenda was the foreshadowing coup.

It also didn't escape his notice that a crowd of protesters were amassing on either side of the road that led into the Palace's front gate. Clearly a lot of people were agreeing with Alvero's ideals.

They were guided in and exited in a garage that ran underneath the building. Each of the four Commandos wore their signature dress whites adorned with medals and ribbons. For some reason, Ash felt uneasy about the formal wear. It wasn't that he didn't like putting it on but many of the commendations he had earned on his chest came from the destruction of Frieden forces in the previous war. He compared it to hunting sawsbuck and then dragging its corpse in front of a bunch of startled deerling.

Tracey was the only one not in uniform, trading that for a black and gray suit that fit his slimmer figure well. He had neatly combed his normally longer hair back.

Under the watch of armed guards, they quickly entered the lower floors of the building. What was once a stony exterior gave way to a warmly lit hallway with tan walls. The floor was marbled in a mix of black and white streaks.

The group was led through another series of corridors before finally coming to a large room that had a massive conference table. Many other men and a few women were all around, talking to one another in a multitude of languages.

"Never been to one of these diplomatic summits," Brock observed, "It's almost like a party."

If a party could be a way to describe it. The body language of the visible Friedens was tense. It was on the back of everyone's mind that this meeting of sorts was done to merely impress the masses and give the world a sliver of hope that the outbreak of war wouldn't happen. The Empire was too dead set on conquering Kalos and subjecting its people into their servitude and its Federation allies were not going to stand for that. He recognized representatives from Unova, one of the Fed's allies, Grasi, New Kethona.

Even Kalos had shown up. They looked the most rattled and with good reason. The western neighbor was on the brink of war against the Frieden.

Ash saw a familiar face, Steven Stone, the premier of Hoenn and gave a curt wave. He got one in return.

"Envoy Sketchit," An accented voice brought all of their attention over to a middle aged man in a military dress similar to their own. Instead of it being white, it was black and gold trim and had a medal count that made even the Commando's look shameful. Ash wondered the same on him. How much Federation was destroyed to pin all those colorful ribbons on his chest? He spoke Friedenese fluently and none of the soldiers understood him, but it was clear that Tracey did. _"I would like to extend a welcome to the People's Palace. I hope you and your head of foreign relations enjoy your stay."_

" _Excellency,"_ Tracey gave a brief bow of his head, _"Thank you for hosting this event. I look forward to speaking with you."_

" _Of course. I am sorry to hear of your superior's illness and wish him a speedy recovery. You are the last of my guests to arrive, so we shall eat first. Your men are most welcome to join us at your assigned table."_

The young diplomat turned to them, "Okay. We're in."

* * *

Although the food served was delicious, none of the Commandos ate heartily. Their stomachs knotted, forming pits that made them alert. Ash at most picked at his plate, giving their waiting staff a surprise when it seemed that he had eaten nothing significant out of the four course meal that was being served.

In a big contrast to their big aggressive custom, the Frieden were also known for being hospitable, that is if they weren't trying to kill you. Food was a big part of their culture and if there wasn't a shortage, there was a big surplus. Any guests would be served generously first before the host would even help themselves. In a household, the wife was the one who would do the cooking while her husband and children would pre-prep the meal and obtain the ingredients for the robust dishes. Conversations would be vibrant, keeping everyone at the table engaged in at least something.

Although today, there were hardly any discussions between any of the nations. They mostly talked amongst themselves in their own languages that made Ash and his team feel left out. He saw many of the Frieden's Cabinet of Ministers present and began to already wonder when he was going to receive an order to capture or assassinate a number of them.

Wine was served often with stewards coming around with fresh bottles when one was emptied. None of Cobalt drank the liquor, opting for water instead. Despite the friendliness in the air through generous helpings of food and drinks, the tension in the room was impalpable. Once the plates and chalices had been cleared, the real conflict would begin.

"I'm surprised," Tracey said as they ate. He cast a glance over at the Kalos delegates, who seemed uneasy as if they were unexpectedly invited. "Unova, New Kethona...even the Kalosians are here. They're practically on the brink of war with the Frieden."

"Something tells me that they were not initially allowed to come."

"Nope."

Twenty minutes later, the stewards recalled and the dishes gone, the diplomats turned to the head table where the Emperor and several ministers from his cabinet sat. Unsurprisingly, Admiral Alvero's seat was vacant.

"Fellow leaders of the world," The man said in a cultured voice, "The Frieden wish to extend a warm welcome to Vargazs and we hope to engage in a peaceful resolution and reasoning for the new future to prosper. I regret to inform you that Admiral Alvero had a conflict in her schedule and will not be attending the summit tonight."

Although that was a bunch of bullshit, the head of state glanced around, making eye contact with everyone.

"I want to start by offering my people's condolences on the destruction of the Kanto-Johto Federation's Pallet Town. I am truly sorry for your loss and reassure my support for standing by you during this crisis amidst all others."

Both Ash and Gary wanted to stand up and call him out on that, but they were merely here for the protection. Tracey and the head of the DRF were the ones that were going to do the talk.

The attack on Pallet Town resulted in nearly its total destruction. All of the structures had mainly survived, save for those caught in the epicenter, but less than five percent of the population were able to make it out alive. The death toll had to be close to three thousand Federation citizens.

Pallet Town as Ash and Gary's home and despite its seedy reputation as a center for gang and drug violence, they still remembered their roots. Only the strongest would survive.

At the same time, Ash almost cried when the news broke out. He wasn't sure if it was from pity of his home and all those innocent people killed or happiness that such an awful place was finally gone.

Many weren't innocent. Drug dealers, gang leaders, felons and other bad people roamed the streets of the dangerous city in south Kanto.

The Frieden couldn't be blamed directly though. Pallet had a secure Federation military weapons development facility and there were rumors of WMDs being manufactured there. The annihilation could just as easily have been an accident and it was further proving that theory since Federation command had lost communications and salvage teams had deemed it lost with all hands.

Tracey raised his glass, "Thank you Emperor for your sympathies. The Federation is strong and we will rebuild and move on from this crisis." He paused, making eye contact with the Kalos representatives, "However; we are here to ensure that you are the one in control of your country. Not your hardline admiral."

The Emperor looked offended, "I'm sorry, I don't understand. You are implying that,"

His voice hardened, "Your highness, I used to serve in the military myself. I don't imply."

The DFR gave Tracey an approving glance but still looked uneasy. They had met prior to the dinner with a challenging approach to the Frieden. Admiral Alvero had been expanding the military in preparation for a big war and the Federation leadership was already regarding her as a serious threat. So both envoys were ordered to make the Frieden stand down from both militarizing their state and leering over at neighboring Kalos as future conquered territory.

Neither of them was going to be easy. The Frieden's lifestyle for decades had been around glory on a militaristic realm. An order like that would be going against a custom that had been in place for so long. An ideal objective would be a reduction in the Admiral's planned military exercises that were occurring way too close to boundary waters of other nations.

Second, the Frieden and Kalosians have always shared a tumultuous relationship. In the times past, the former rulers of the Frieden had viewed the neighboring tribes of Kalosian people as weak. Raiding parties would venture over to single villages, plundering them of many resources. Kalos was divided into smaller states and each was autonomous, so feuds in between were common, making the invasions to be a simple task.

Eventually, the Kalosians had wised up, banding together to form one whole region in order to fight off the attacks. At the same time, the Frieden tribes had united and in the history books, both neighboring nations were viewed as superpowers with unchallenged military might.

Even now, grudges would continue to be held and threaten to boil over once more. Kalos had since reveled in the shadow of its golden age self while the Frieden kept its own militia at a battle ready state to take on any opponent.

"I assure you that the legitimate Frieden government had nothing to do with the destruction of Pallet."

Tracey sighed, "I believe you, your excellency, but what about your Admiral?" He saw the translators of the respective representatives keeping up with the two talking, "She's always busy, conducting wargame exercises quite close to our borders, Unova's, Kalos' and almost everyone else here who isn't landlocked." As they finished the last part, Tracey saw some surprised looks on the various envoy's faces, "Not to mention she has your police unit, Ministry Unit Nine in her pocket, so who's to tell that she's already plotting your overthrow?"

"Kalos already feels uncomfortable having to share half its eastern border with you Emperor. You know as well as I do that we will step in to protect our close ally here in this region just like we did several years ago. If you don't keep your Admiral in check, our government wants me to tell you that we will. And it's going to be bloody again…for both sides. That happens, then this will be the last time we meet on civil terms."

* * *

 **Bit of foreshadow right now. Things are definitely going right to a powder keg and the Feds may have just lit a spark underneath.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**


	7. Chapter 7

Night had fallen across the Frieden sky when the delegates of the multiple nations attending the conference were beginning to leave. The airfield was on total lockdown and its control tower was active with multiple different aircraft rolling off the runway into the sky, being escorted by Raider fighters until they reached a higher altitude.

The remainder of the negotiations were left nebulous; right after the stern and threatening message to the Frieden on behalf of Tracey and the DFR director, an aide of the emperor had approached him, whispering something in his ear.

A lot of murmurs came from the table when the head of state dismissed himself from the seat, citing that there was pressing business he had to attend to. As if the Commando's guard wasn't up enough, it now raised their suspicions higher that coming here was not a wise move. So thus, the conversations dwindled down to small talk with the rest of the Frieden's ruling cabinet. Many of the ministers agreed that while peace was a favorable option, Admiral Alvero's influence over their massive military force would simply give her too much power to sway politics away from a hardline action. It seemed that an overthrow was inevitable.

Ash sighed as he loitered at the base of the Federation Air Force plane that had brought them to Vargazs. Even though they would be the last of the delegates to leave back to their country, they were also waiting for Trip to finish his end of hacking into the military database, uncovering any information about future military actions. Last he heard; the young Commando was still in the stateroom, trying to crack encryption after encryption…it was military hardware after all. He was confident that it could be broken, but it would take some time.

There was a small team of MUN armed guards standing at the fenced entrance of the field, most likely to keep outsiders out while the high ranking officials of the governments would be leaving.

Both he and Gary would have thought nothing of it except that each of them cradled an assault rifle slung across their sleek uniformed bodies. They constantly moved, at least one was looking in their direction at all times.

Their behavior seemed odd…almost as if anticipating a future event.

"That normal?" The latter asked Tracey as he and Brock were escorting the director of the DFR across.

He looked back at the group, "Yeah, just like I said, you'll have eyes on you until you've left the country."

"Great,"

The plane began to rumble to life as its pilots began to ready the long journey ahead. Just next to them on the taxiway, a second jet bearing the Frieden's flag on the tail was just turning right onto the runway.

Ash recognized its features; it was the Emperor's aircraft.

Blinking lights, it began to rumble down the runway, lifting its nose into the air and gently escaping gravity's anchor.

The explosion came without warning. The giant aircraft had gained less than a hundred feet of altitude close to the end before an enormous plume of fire erupted from its starboard engine. The blast was powerful enough to shear the wing right off.

It dipped down dangerously, with yellow fires still spilling out as the aircraft plummeted back to the ground, landing at the end of the airfield and igniting the rest of its fuel in another giant detonation that lit up the night sky.

"Shit," Gary muttered, "That was the Emperor's plane!"

A thousand thoughts ran through Ash's mind. The ruler of the Frieden was now dead, leaving an enormous gap in power that only a handful of people could fill his shoes.

Someone like the Admiral.

It was too early to tell if she had been responsible for his assassination, for it could've been anyone, but she stood out to him as the person to gain the most from his death. Ash also knew now that getting out of the country just got a hundred times harder. The Frieden would be quick to find or blame someone responsible and give them a liable excuse to declare war. The Admiral had been flexing her military muscle for some time and the built up tension was going to escalate quickly. Once news of this got out to the Frieden people, all it would take is one blame on the Feds or Kalosians to ignite another bloody conflict. There would be no "terrorist" or people unaffiliated with the legitimate government blah, something like this was inexcusable. In the Feds' case, it could be a retaliatory attack to the one on Pallet, even though there was no pressing evidence the Frieden were involved.

An alarm blared across the field as a handful of armored MUN Enforcer cars appeared at the entrance. Some of them raced towards the wreckage, while a couple made a beeline right towards them. They were large, armored four wheeled vehicles that had long panels of polarized glass and oversized tires to take on various terrain. It was considered the standard utility vehicle for the Frieden. Unlike the regular military units; MUN's Enforcers were sleeker with fine lines of a lighter armor and sacrificing its rugged protection for an increase in speed.

"Are they coming to help?" Gary asked the big question, "Or to finish the job?"

Muzzle flashes lit up on the sides as the Frieden opened fire on the Federation group. The Commandos scattered close to their aircraft and Tracey's car, the only viable pieces of cover in the open.

"There's your answer!" Brock shouted. "We've got about five seconds before they catch us in the open!"

One of the cars stopped just at the front of the plane. A single figure emerged from the door, raising a weapon up at the flight deck.

"The hell?"

There was a popping sound and then another fiery explosion right from the Federation aircraft as the grenade made short work of the fragile hull. The entire bow of the vehicle was covered in fire, billowing a second column of smoke to join the bigger one just at the other end of the field.

There was no sign of the pilots.

"I'm gonna make a break for Tracey's car," Gary said, already knowing Cobalt's secondary strategy. "Get Tracey and the director."

* * *

Ash and Brock practically sprinted up the airstairs into the main cabin. Red lights were blinking rapidly and many electrical equipment sparked, having been damaged by the blast. Smoke was crowding the top, causing the detectors to beep loudly. They kept low, crouching down and moving quick to minimize inhalation.

"Tracey!" He shouted, "Director!"

"Over…"Someone coughed, "Over here!"

The duo quickly homed in on the response, rushing through to the rear of the aircraft.

Tracey and the director were just at the end of the wall on the port side. A big desk had been shaken free and tipped over, catching both men on its fallen end and pinning them to the wall.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine," Tracey said, "The blast knocked the director unconscious, but we're stuck underneath the desk."

"We'll have to make it quick," Brock said, "We're sitting duckletts in here."

"Agreed."

With a bit of help on both ends, they were able to pry the director's body free. Tracey had been stuck close to a heavier portion, but he had wiggled his way out enough to ditch his dress jacket that had been snagged underneath.

"Gary better know we're on our way out," Brock said. He scooped up the director's body, slinging him over his back in a fireman's carry, "Otherwise we're done for."

"Let's hope so."

They made their way back to the stairs, where one of the Ministry's cars sat, awaiting for them to emerge again. Neither Gary or Tracey's car was anywhere in sight.

"Shit,"

Ash glanced around the cabin before an idea came to his mind.

The flight deck was just about completely obliterated, but he quickly found a compartment on the captain's side that was intact. This section was fireproof in case such a thing had broken out while the plane was flying. He rummaged through before finding an orange snub nosed pistol that resembled a revolver.

"When he shows up, get ready to run."

"How do you know he's going to show up?"

"He just will." Ash glanced at Brock, "You ready."

"I got you lead."

Peering just outside so that he could barely be seen, Ash cocked the hammer, aimed and fired the flaregun.

Almost instantaneously, a bright red bolt of fire raced down from the plane, hitting the Ministry's parked car right on the windshield. Through the glare, Ash could see that there were four men close by, having a delayed reaction from the surprise assault.

Two guns opened fire at once, rattling the fuselage of the plane. The remaining two MUN split up, carefully approaching the airstairs as their comrades kept up suppressing fire.

It would be only a few seconds before they were overrun. The weapons locker aboard the aircraft was jammed shut, so hand to hand would be the most viable option. Element of surprise was also not available. The MUN guys knew they were up there and their legends of being very reactive and ruthless proved to be all the more true.

A blur of light caught his attention. Sure enough, Gary had read the signal just right and floored Tracey's car, rushing right towards the MUN Enforcer.

The vehicles crashed together in a loud bang, taking all four MUN members attention off the plane.

Ash sprung into action, exploding out of the doorway. He saw the closer one had turned back to him, already bringing his weapon to bear.

The Commando grabbed the rails of the airstairs and lashed out with a swift kick. His victim was caught off guard, tumbling down the stairs right into his partner. Both of them landed at the concrete floor with sickening cracks, unmoving.

Gary flung open the car's door, holding a pistol. He sighted the first MUN looking in his direction, snapping off a pair of shots that dropped him. Switching aim, he hit the second one in the arm, adjusting at the same time so that the next couple of shots hit center mass.

Even as he pulled back from the Enforcer, they could see an enormous indentation in the front, crumpled into the hood as if it were paper. Surprisingly, the engine continued to purr with no signs of damage. There was no clear way to tell though.

"Get in!" He shouted. Even as he had killed the last MUN member, the second Enforcer changed course from the airplane's other side and raced around the front. Staccato gunfire peppered the cement around them as Gary continued to fire. Even at such a longer range where a pistol was considered unreliable, he cycled through the remaining rounds to suppress its advance.

Ash and Tracey managed to secure the unconscious director into the car's back. Brock got behind the wheel as Gary took the back seat.

"Weapons?" Cobalt Lead asked.

"In the trunk,"

Brock reversed, wheeling the car out of the way before accelerating again, heading straight for the exit. A few MUN Enforcers were parked on the sides with at least two squads already lining up from hearing the commotion.

Gunfire plastered the winshield, causing both Brock and Ash to flinch, yet the driver did not deviate his course. The glass of the envoy's car was bulletproof, but all it would take was one round and one of the Commandos would be bleeding.

The MUN must've figured out that the car was not intending to stop and each one of them quickly ran out of the way.

Brock didn't slow down, steering right down the closest street and following the lane that led towards the lights of the city. Ash glanced behind to see the Enforcers already wheeling onto the road in hot pursuit. As he looked back; Gary handed him a matte black assault rifle.

"I'm going to make headway to the city." Brock said, "We've still got a little bit until we can reach regular traffic."

"Count on the Ministry sending additional Enforcers," Tracey said, "There will be more coming from the city to intercept us."

"That's where we need to go. Over that way, we can disappear."

More gunfire erupted from behind as the MUN Enforcers had now gained a significant amount of ground between the two. Bullets puckered the rear of the car, being absorbed by the light armored protection. Still, the warning pulsating in Brock's face told him that the integrity was not going to last long.

Ash and Gary smashed the windows on their sides and leaned out, sitting on the doorside. Each Commando had part of the seatbelt strapped to their waist to keep them from being flung out. They were well aware of the risks, but they had done this many times, in both training and in actual combat.

Gary fired first, letting out a long stream of bullets that scratched the closest MUN Enforcer. The four wheeled vehicle swerved to avoid the bullets and backed off. Two of the others instead gained speed. One of the men had propped themselves on the doorside of their own and took aim at the fleeing car.

Ash shifted his rifle's ironsight to the figure and fired a four round burst. He had used Frieden FA family of rifles before and knew exactly how it behaved. It was a heavier battle rifle than the Federation's standard 516s, but its recoil kicked much harder, giving an inexperienced shooter a more difficult time in terms of accuracy.

His shots had missed, but it prompted the Nine to retract himself back inside the shelter of the Enforcer.

"How much longer?"

"I can see the highway from here. We've got a series of tight turns, so hang on!"

The Enforcers kept a good pace behind them. The Nines had now held back a little more, not wanting to risk an unnecessary loss when they had additional forces on the way to intercept.

Ash checked his rifle. Attached to the underbarrel was a forty millimeter grenade launcher, which could fire a high explosive charge at an arc.

"I've got an idea," He took one of the shells from Gary and slid it into the chamber, "Brock, tell me when we're about to turn."

"On it."

The next pathway meandered around several hilly mounds that overlooked the main part of downtown Vargazs. At the bottom was an enormous two directional highway that was leading towards the highrise of buildings.

Brock curved the car on the narrow lane that hugged the side of the first slope, silently thanking the halogen lights for providing plenty of illumination on the path. There was a small metal barrier that kept them from going off, although it would prove useless at their current speed. Still, their own ride was smaller, closer to the ground and built for tight maneuverable turns unlike the larger Enforcers. They had previously gained on them, but trying to go at a high speed on close turns with little room to change their course. Their smaller car wasn't exactly built for racing, but its suspension allowed it to be more in its element. All three pursuing Enforcers fought hard to stay on their heels, but they were losing ground rapidly.

"Turning!"

Ash leaned back inside when his eyes snapped up to a flicker of motion behind him.

Something orange flashed before it raced right in their direction at an astonishing speed.

"Shit!"

The projectile landed right behind them, throwing up a cloud of dust and rubble. Brock had seen it out of his rearview and increased his speed ever so slightly. Since the Nine had lead his target, a change in his constant heading caused the variables to shift and thus it was missed.

"You gotta be fuckin kidding!" Gary shouted, looking disbelieved, "A MolRod?"

A MolRod was a specialized Frieden anti-armor weapon that was shoulder fired. It was introduced relatively late in the previous war. Unlike the newer models of their rocket propelled grenade weapons, the MolRod went back to its older iterations, being completely unguided. It fired a portmanteau of its name; a rod of molten metal heated just enough to cause damage while rendering it hardened enough to not melt upon impact.

Ash had seen it in action and had even used one before. It was highly dangerous to everything, personnel, vehicles and aircraft alike. Some of the wounds it had caused to whatever it hit were pretty disturbing.

"It came from the middle Enforcer." He leaned back out, now holding his rifle. Switching to the grenade launcher, he brought it up to his head, eyeballing the trajectory and timing.

Brock went around in a left, going right behind a hill and blocking his line of sight.

"Damn,"

"Ash, this curves around again right before the highway. They're going to have another shot," Brock said.

"Okay, just keep it steady."

They were just past the next U when the Enforcers appeared. Each one was loosely next to one another, evidenced by their lights. Even with little himself, Ash knew the statistics of his own weapon and how he could disrupt them.

He angled the weapon up and pulled the trigger.

There was a muffled poofing sound as the grenade whistled upwards. He had aimed just ahead of the advancing Enforcers to do a better job at leading than their opponents.

Brock had been right. At the same time; another orange flash jumped in their direction. This time, the MolRod impacted ahead of them, burying itself into the hill right above their heads. Rocks and dirt rained down from the explosion and even from a notable distance, they could feel its shimmering heat.

The grenade arced down before it slammed into the rear Enforcer. Not Ash's target, but he'd take it. Its fuel tank detonated, the force blasting it forward to knock the middle one forward. The front one kept pace, coming up on them.

"Ooh!" Gary exclaimed, "Holy shit Ashy boy! That was amazing!"

Ash placed the rifle down and breathed out a sigh of relief, "What's next."

"Next," Brock approached the highway. "We lose them for good here. Might wanna hang onto something."

Ketchum got back inside as he made a hard turn to their right. Brock drifted a bit, burning rubber right up to a ramp that led onto the overpass.

"Hang on a second," Tracey interrupted, "We're heading east? That's towards more Frieden garrisons!"

"Nope. Watch and learn."

Brock came to a stop before shunted it into reverse to turn back to their original heading. From his previous drift; they could see huge black tire tracks newly minted into the ground. He moved forward, heading left; the opposite direction and jumping into the onramp, quickly blending into traffic. As he melted in with the other cars on the freeway, they could see the headlights of two Enforcers approaching the intersection.

"What was that all about?" Tracey asked.

"Little trick I saw on a police show." Brock explained, "Some gangsters fooled the cops in a chase by making tire tracks on a turn onto a freeway and then going in the opposite direction. So the Ministry would be following my tire tracks. They also have the license plate of this car, so unless someone reports us, which I doubt in this dark, they'll begin their search that way. So we'll make for the river where we have our exfil."

Tracey also knew that the governmental district was in that area, "But Trip. He's over that way."

"They're looking for us," Ash said, "Not necessarily him. We're the bigger fugitives. Besides, Trip knows what to do and he'll turn up."

* * *

The knock came at the door to Trip's stateroom just twenty minutes after the explosion. He was busy at the desk, just on the final crack of the encryption into the Frieden database when company arrived.

Patting his side to make sure that his 226 pistol was with him, he kept on typing with one hand while keeping the other close to the gun.

" _This is Ministry Unit Nine,"_ The voice came from the door's other side, _"Please open this door. There is a progressing situation in this building!"_

Trip didn't understand a lick of Friedenese, but he was pretty sure that the message was to let them in or they were going to do it themselves.

"Almost there," He whispered,

His attention was caught by something being unzipped at the end of the room. Acting fast, he shut off the lights, closing his laptop and waited.

A fiber-optic was snaked underneath the door, barely noticeable.

Trip held his breath as it swept from side to side, searching the entrance for threats. The Nine must've been satisfied since he quickly retracted it back through.

He knew what was coming next; they were about to breach.

"Cobalt's compromised,"

The door's handle were blown to shreds by a shotgun and the first Nine yanked it open, flicking a canister inside. The stun grenade detonated, blinding anyone on the other end.

Now kicked down, the half dozen Nines entered unchallenged, weapons raised. The stateroom was secured in a matter of seconds.

Inside, the room was completely vacant and devoid of anyone for some time. Dust lined the wardrobe and mirrors. Some smoke from the grenade still hung in the air. Even the bed sheets were not rumpled.

One of the Nines pointed up at the end. The balcony door was wide open, allowing the Vargazs breeze to blow the curtains about.

The cityscape lay before them, now concealing the room's former occupant.

* * *

 **Things are bound of heat up now! I have to admit; I had a lot of fun writing the chase scene. Hope everyone enjoyed it.**

 **See you all next time. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	8. Chapter 8

Twenty miles off the coast of Cinnabar Island at a depth of three hundred feet, the boat was set to ultraquiet. The lone contact on the sonar was a lone Federation Guardian class destroyer. It was cruising less than six miles away at a steady speed of just a few knots.

The most plentiful of the Kanto-Johto Federation's strong Navy; the newer Guardian-class destroyers were fast, durable warships designed to escort other vessels, be it carriers or civilian vessels in dangerous waters where piracy was abundant. They were built around the Fed's latest AURA combat system, a next-generation guidance computer developed by a joint effort between Hoenn's Maple Software and two other Federation electronic giants that allowed constant communication with guided rounds and lazed targets for precise strikes.

As the times changed in the aftermath of the devastating war between the Feds and the Frieden superpowers, much of the world's instabilities required the victor's forces to constantly be stretched around in order to settle the unrest. Collateral damage was inevitable; civilians killed in the crossfire and billions of dollars damaged beyond repair.

The AURA combat system now allowed the Federation Navy to pick off its targets at will with an exaggerated accuracy of an error no larger than a foot.

So the thought of being destroyed with such a powerful guidance system had set the whole crew inside the dark red room in a sense of unease.

The presence of a fast-attack submarine this close to Federation territory would incite a swift and lethal response. While the Prowler-class submarines and their Stalker-class replacements had the means to engage such a ship, they had to merely be pinged even if the Guardian had been sunk for an anti-ship aircraft from a number of bases to drop torpedoes to put them down.

The captain knew that this was the final and most difficult stretch. While their mission was time sensitive, so be it if they had to lurk in the depths for another hour. It was worth the risk to avoid detection and or capture.

"Captain!" One of the officers at the row of panels whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear, "Her screws just went silent. She's drifting!"

The commanding officer's presence was definitely felt in the room, they all wore casual paramilitary fatigues. He set a hand on the officer's shoulder.

"Easy son. They can't hear us if we don't make a sound."

Looking across the rest of the bridge, the low ceilinged room was no bigger than six feet at its highest point. It was like a crypt with a multitude of glowing red lights that bathed everyone in a demonic hellish glow. The air conditioning units were not functioning due to the sound they would give off and yet sweat glistened on every single person's face in the room.

The submarine had been running quiet ever since picking up the destroyer at the mouth of the giant bay that was located on the southern tip of Cinnabar Island.

Tension in the room was impalpable. There was no clear way of how effective the AURA combat system was, but her passive sonar arrays could detect even the slight anomalies and sort out whether it was merely a pokemon on the sea or another potentially hostile vessel. There was even an old story in the previous war that had two Federation cruisers pursue a Frieden submarine over several thousand miles because one seaman kept popping his gum whenever he chewed.

The other fear came moments later, when the noiseless alarm began to pulsate on another console. Its presence was quickly announced by thin wisps that curled around the corner, sticking to the walls.

It was the one thing submariners feared more than death…fire.

The captain looked at his executive officer, "XO, lock down that fire whatever the cost. We must maintain silence."

"Sir,"

"Sonar?" He knew that the fire was the more immediate danger, but the destroyer was the real threat. If one of the two got the better of his crew, than the other one wouldn't need to be involved as a variable.

"The destroyer's still drifting. She's on a vector in our direction."

He nodded, still trying to show his crew that everything would be under control, "Patience."

"Did he hear us?"

"He heard us all right. Just didn't know what it was."

It was going to be even more difficult to evade the AURA systems.

The XO returned from the fire and breathed out a sigh of relief, "It was a small grease fire in the galley. It's been put out and nothing's seriously damaged."

Captain would have to worry about that later and with one of the dangers subsiding, they still had the destroyer to address.

"Sir," Another officer piped up, "We're picking up the destroyer's engines again. She's gaining headway! Going due west and up to eight knots!"

Everyone in the room felt the place light up as relief washed over their faces.

Captain Tuula sat down in the command chair, finally able to relax since they had now gotten past the Federation's biggest defense. "Well done everyone."

He glanced back at the figure with crossed arms. There was no telling what reception he was going to get, but it came as a pleasant surprise when Admiral Ingridson Alvero gave him a barely seen nod of respect.

She waved her hand up in the air, "Bravo,"

As if it was awaiting the signal, the red battle lights clicked off, replaced by a softer white. A handful of technicians who were waiting for the simulation to end headed into the room, already busying themselves with checking the sophisticated equipment. Sailors manning their stations got up, filing out, exhausted even though they had been sitting for the past several hours. Still, the sense of self-satisfaction hung in the air; this was the closest to the real thing.

"I must say that you do impressive seamanship," Admiral Alvero extended a hand for Captain Tuula to shake, "This completes your training. You and your men are ready to be put to sea."

"For a moment I thought we had failed."

"Every good captain can handle one crisis at a time. The great ones handle many."

Captain Tuula allowed himself to smile, finally pleased that the months of training were about to pay off. "Plasma will be most pleased to hear that we will now pose a threat to Unova's Navy."

"They're no Federation ships, but still quite formidable. Remember when you're smuggling your weapons and cargo to your cells scattered across, it is wiser to avoid detection than to directly engage." She nodded again, clapping him on the back, "Debrief your men and I will make the arrangements for you to head back home."

* * *

A MUN agent was by her side as she exited from the top of the submarine's massive conning tower. The huge three hundred foot black boat was only halfway submerged in a long-abandoned drydock. The cramped space inside had gotten the air stale, so Alvero was more than happy to take a fresh breath, even when its crispness was betrayed by the rather chilly wind that bit into any exposed skin. Several buildings lined the side of the drydock, with armed guards visibly patrolling the compound. Out to the dark blue waters sat a trio of Frieden naval ships; two frigates and the Navy's most powerful vessel that was nearly twice the size of her escorts. Her own _Ultimatum_.

Alvero wasn't particularly tall, just over six feet with a ramrod straight thin body with high cheekbones and icy blue eyes. Her hair was swept over one shoulder in a glassy obsidian shade.

While there were few women in the Frieden military, Alvero's statement and undeniable presence quickly shut out anyone who protested against them in military service. She was known to be a strict disciplinarian, having fought relentlessly through the Frieden Navy during the previous war as a Commander on her own destroyer before the political shakedowns had canned most of the senior leadership. Seeing a bigger opportunity to rebuild her country and finish what her predecessors had failed, this had catapulted her through several promotions and undermining her peers that allowed her nearly total control of the Frieden's armed forces.

She noticed on her personal cell phone that there were half a dozen missed calls from several of her colleagues. It was rumored to have a high turnover rate, since acquiring power, she was known to selectively staff her fleet with officers who did not question her orders. While the men were less than impulsive commanders; they sufficed in following orders and thinking well enough to adapt in chaotic environments. She made sure that constant wargame exercises kept them sharp-minded.

Still; only one call was worth returning.

"Yes. This is Alvero."

"Admiral," Director Stehl, the head of Ministry Unit Nine and her "aide" began, "How did it go?"

"They will sail in two days."

"The techs have assured me that the device is ready when they are."

Alvero scoffed, "How stupid do these Plasma thugs think when I actually agreed to sell them one of my attack subs to smuggle weapons and drugs into Unova? Was I that good or just crazy?"

"I would say neither Admiral."

"Heh. Captain Tuula seems capable enough, but the Unovan Navy would be on his ass in an hour after he entered their waters. It takes years of constant drills and training to evade the sonar of the hateful Unovans and Feds."

Stehl chuckled, "You're definitely got them good this time. If I remember correctly, they were wanting to get this done in two weeks."

"I do. They're fools. We will be getting the last of our payments…which I might add is well more than what I would have paid for this junk. Once it sets sail and dives to a depth of three hundred feet, the ballast intakes will jam and it will spend the rest of its life at the ocean's floor. No blowback from Plasma, no witnesses and we will have upheld our end of the deal. The money will go a long way into Fire Plague."

"Unfortunately, my Ministry has been unable to locate the Federation facility that houses its design and makeup. We are still looking."

"Understood. We need it soon. So tell me Stehl, why have you called?"

"Um," It seemed as if the director was uneasy about something, "We've got a problem. Schein has escaped."

Her attitude immediately turned into rage as if thrown by some proverbial switch. "What?! How did this happen?"

"We're…we're not completely sure. From what the warden has told me; there was a new prisoner brought in. Karl de Vaal. It turned out to be an imposter who somehow smuggled in explosives. He took Schien and they blasted their way out of the prison where a helicopter was awaiting their escape."

"How long ago did this happen?"

"Six days."

"And you waited until now to tell me this?!"

"Please Admiral! We did not have all the facts and had lost contact with the prison for some time!"

Alvero gritted her teeth. She didn't ascend to the throne of being the supreme commander of the Frieden forces while not being ruthless and bold. Not only that, but the feared Ministry Unit Nine had been in her pocket for some time and she used it freely to tell dissidents that speaking out would not be tolerated.

"The guards who had brought this new prisoner in. I want them jailed immediately. Put them in general population and have the inmates mete out our justice on them. I want the warden of that prison out now and in my office by the time I return to Vargazs. Get me a list of replacements as well."

"At once."

"If Schein is alive. That puts Fire Plague at risk. We still can't develop it without the full details, so he still does not have proof. I want every loose end taken care of. Understand Director?"

"I understand Admiral." Stehl said, "What about who had rescued Schein?"

"Leave that to me. I think I have a way of finding that out." She paused, "Oh and one more thing Director."

"Of course."

"Next time you have news of this urgency; do not bother to ask me questions about how training went. It is a waste of my time."

"Understood Admiral. My apologies."

"Don't apologize for that," She snapped, "Just never again."

* * *

 **Short chapter this time around. Hope everyone enjoyed it nonetheless.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**


	9. Chapter 9

The two parallel rivers that joined at Vagazs eventually flowed south and then west before dumping into the ocean. It became narrower as it would first begin by drainage of snow to the Frieden's west coast mountains, but the wide banks were a big hive activity for commercial shipping.

Several massive bulk freighters loitered around the river's widest point close to the city, with a span of several miles. Being at such a low altitude, this particular portion of the Empire was rundown. Buildings didn't last long in the more than once floods that usually came in the early spring and those that survived looked worse with every passing disaster.

Like its military, the Frieden citizens and companies didn't make their way in society through merit, rather by subterfuge, connivance and bribery. The massive shipping port was no different, although considerably less annoying than some of the others. Captains of ships would receive further hassle from the port authorities and the police unless a higher than normal rate was paid. A big circulating black market was one of the place's biggest open secrets.

Despite it being a hotspot for criminals and terrorists alike; Ash was not concerned about that.

The Frieden Navy had a large base at the mouth of the river and in essence guarded the lone entry and exit out of the port. It was a huge choke point, with little room for ships to maneuver, which made them easy pickings for the anti-ship guns that were pointed downriver.

There were two huge masts of menacing-looking destroyers armed to the teeth with weapons that patrolled the waters at all times. Each vessel entering and exiting; even small pleasure craft, had to be scheduled and cleared with both the Navy and Ministry Unit Nine.

With Gary and Tracey by his side, Brock and the director covering the rear; Ash strode through the marketplace at the civilian side of the riverbanks, wading among other people as they went around doing their daily tasks.

Despite the corruption and misery of the place, the civilians of the Frieden Empire were decent people. Other than the fact that they wished utter destruction of the "pathetic" Federation or their Kalosian neighbors, they were still human beings.

Even when their own secret police tried to murder them all.

Knowing their uniforms and clothing would stand out to everyone else; Ash and the others headed towards the riverbank, knowing that it was going to be their secondary form of extraction. The longer they spent in Frieden territory, the greater chance of them being made. A convenient clothing place, allowed Tracey to head inside and buy them all articles that didn't garner such attention.

Now incognito, they moved to get weapons. Back at their car, which was now at the bottom of the riverbed downstream; they had also disposed of the arms since ordinary looking civilians tended to look quite suspicious carrying a military standard FA assault rifle.

That left the black market as the only viable option to get firearms. Luckily for them, one of Tracey's undercover informants had previously said that he associated with a small-time dealer at the market by the river. Through their newly secured comms, he managed to reach out. The informant reluctantly agreed to set up a meeting between the two after the envoy apparently had to call in a favor.

As they headed to the place of the deal, it was noted that the crowds began to thin out as the large open vendors became less and less. There were fewer people around the more dilapidated buildings and some were pretty shady looking.

"Through here," Tracey pointed to an alley behind one of the various warehouses. On its smooth wall, they could see the flickering glow of a fire.

"I'll stay back with the director," Brock whispered, "Even though we're dressed differently, he's bound to have someone recognize him."

Crossing into the place was like entering another world just a few hundred feet from a public gathering. The fire source came from empty drums as an entirely different crowd of people, much less civilized were amassing.

There was some of every kind; drug dealers, addicts, felons, murderers, terrorists, arms dealers and everything in between. Although it was technically the enemy; the sight of having so many bad people close to civilians really unnerved Ash and his team.

He was wearing a mask over his nose and mouth with a skull's grin on it, but since hardly anyone had their faces exposed, he had been swept over as the Commandos surveyed all the scum.

The man had walked over, purposefully bumped into Tracey while yelling at him in a language.

"The hell?" He looked over at the intruder, "The hell's your problem?"

"What?"

"I hope Jay-Ach sent you," The man spoke in Basic, cracking his knuckles, "Cause if not, we're gonna have to make you conveniently disappear."

"Who's Jay-Ach?"

It had been a test. While nobody in this terrorist haven trusted one another; there was a loose pact on verifying whether you'd be killed on the spot or not.

Tracey's natural instincts to sense that had managed to get them this far, so the Commandos let him do the talking.

"The guns," He began, "You got them?"

"Depends…you willing to pay?"

He produced a small brown sack and tossed it at the skull man's feet.

Cautiously as if expecting a trap, he scooped it up and emptied it on a rotting bench table nearby. The tension was beginning to thicken as he smoothed one of the notes out and thoroughly examined it.

"What do you need guns for? You know that ownership here is reserved only for government officials and military."

"Things,"

"Hmm," Skull mask's gaze went out to Ash and Gary. "They don't look like local guys. What are they doing here?"

Ash stepped forward, "We'll be on our way as soon as we get what we need. As far as you're concerned, once this is over; you'll never see us again."

The man nodded, glaring at them, "You're Commandos. Federation." He looked at Tracey, "Your man isn't trapping me out is he? You know if you're caught dealing with the Federation without permission has the death penalty?"

"It's about to get that way even if you're looking in their direction," Tracey warned. "Now give us our weapons."

Skull Mask nodded at that, gesturing to one of the lackeys next to him. The Commandos were then presented with two big black boxes that were opened to show a set of full sized FIP-45 pistols. The standard issue for Frieden military and Ministry Unit Nine.

"Ammunition is inside a bag at the entrance where you have come from." Skull Mask regarded Tracey, "Tell your man no more favors after this. We are never to see each other again."

With that, the Skull Mask and his lackeys turned around, disappearing into the shadows.

"Strange fellow," Gary dryly muttered.

"No shortage of them here," Ash moved to check over the weapons. As far as he could tell in the poorly lit area, they were in acceptable condition.

Tracey had found several full clips right where Skull Mask had described and they quickly distributed two additional per person along with their fully loaded weapon.

So now re-armed, the group set out, awaiting the rendezvous with Trip.

Before parting ways; they decided to head to the river in order for a fast extraction if things would go south. They had a feeling that there was going to be resistance at the airfield since it was on lockdown and cutting off access to the river would take longer for the Empire to do, despite the Naval station right at its entrance.

Trip couldn't risk talking to them due to the fear of being intercepted by Frieden intelligence, but he knew that this area was going to be the place where they would meet up and get out.

Jumping out of the country was top priority, since the military was now looking for them and a public government official now had a target on his back.

They all did.

"You guys might want to get back into cover," Brock warned from the entrance over their earpieces, "I just spotted a pair of Niners walking out of the market in our direction."

"They looking for us?"

"I doubt you're wrong,"

"And I doubt it's just them too," Ash glanced at the river, "Head back into the market. We can disappear there."

They loped their way through the growing crowds again, Brock and the director just a few paces ahead while Tracey and Gary stuck by Ash's side. Taking their time, they tried to appear as casual as possible, looking about the various hawkers trying to lure them into making an overpriced purchase. Smart buyers knew that most of the products sold in these vendors were grossly inflated, tailoring to tourists.

Still, the Commandos, Tracey and the DFR politely declined all offers thrown their way, still continuing into the denser section of the marketplace. Ash was astounded to see that even though the local time was just past nine in the evening, the place looked as busy as it did five hours ago.

"We would have to be out of Frieden territory in order to successfully pick up extraction. If anyone's listening."

"You talking about stowaways?"

"Well our best bet is to commandeer a vessel capable of carrying us downriver out to sea. We can try and get to Kalos where the Director can fly back to the Federation. Right now, his safety and getting out is the top priority."

"What if everything does go south?" Gary asked, "There's going to be a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire."

"Agreed," Brock said, "The Frieden have just got themselves an excuse to invade Kalos and it's already showing they're gearing up for the invasion. If news comes out that Federation Commandos were responsible for the death of its civilians, then it's going to blow out in a full scale war."

"Then we do this quietly."

"Even when the press is going to state it's our fault."

"This was a trap in the first place," Ash said, "And we walked right into it."

* * *

 **Hey everyone, got a few things to talk about before I bow out.**

 **First, you may have noticed that I changed my name from My Wunderwaffle iz missin. Although I absolutely loved that name; I figure it was time for a change. No worries, new title; same epic writer.**

 **Second, there will be no update for this story for a while. I am scheduled to go on a business related trip next week to Miami that takes up the remaining days off that I have to write and post. Plus, I'm a bit behind on my scheduled writing. I'm not sure when I will be able to get back to this, but hopefully it won't be for too long.  
**

 **So that's all I got for ya. Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.**

 **BS**


	10. Chapter 10

It was mid-morning when the Commandos finally managed to commandeer a boat ride out of the capital city downriver where the Federation's Fourth Fleet had been put on a high alert at Kalos' southern coast.

 _Audacious_ was among the vessels attached to the fleet and had been on standby, monitoring Frieden vessels moving in and out of the port when they finally picked up the team. The director, now with a harrowing tale of live-action combat was whisked away to the flagship _Blackthorn_ before an aircraft would fly him back into the capital city for an extended debrief.

The Commandos, however were allowed a quick shower and hot meal before they met with the venerable Admiral Clark. A salt and pepper moustache man; he had spent one of the Navy's longest tenures as the battle-hardened commander of the Fourth Fleet. Standing nearly six feet tall with the physique of a young ursaring; he was known for being both respected and intimidated in his subordinates. However, at the same time; the Fourth Fleet was often the first deployed the hot zones of combat, making him ever cooler under pressure.

Under his leadership; his group became the most decorated in the previous war for their valiant defense of Kalos' southern coast from predatory Frieden warships.

Ash, Gary, Brock and Tracey filed into the briefing room, where the onboard screen of the Admiral had him sitting at his desk deep in the hull of _Blackthorn_.

"Admiral," All three commandos snapped a sharp salute.

"At ease."

"Urban's MIA," Ash began, "He will stay silent down there to siphon intelligence on the Frieden's plans until he has a shot of exfil. I doubt things are going to die down after a while."

"Doubtful," Clark waved a hand, "We're already picking up increased activity at their naval shipyards and mobilization of their forces on the west. They're already ready to invade Kalos again."

"So you're moving the fleet?" Brock asked.

"That's right. Kalosian warships won't stand much of a chance without our help, but at the same time; I don't want to be the one person responsible for starting another damn war."

" _Audacious_ is not joining the rest of the Fourth. Your man Trip has sent us some intelligence over the backscatter networks that is quite alarming, given the recent attack back at Pallet."

Ash and Gary exchanged a glance. Their hometown of Pallet had only a few thousand individuals back at the southern part of Kanto. At the same time; it had a reputation of being quite a dangerous place to live. Violence, gang wars, drugs were rampant in the town being bad enough that the local police could be just as dangerous as everyone else. The tough lifestyle forced Ash and Gary to adapt when they grew up in a school rife with bullies and drugs and they opted to join the military at the first opportunity.

He had to admit that he cried a little when he heard about its annihilation, but he wasn't sure whether it was from sadness of such destruction or happiness that the awful place was gone.

Either way, despite the rowdiness of the neighborhood; Pallet was home to a Federation weapons research facility that had some of the highest security measures of any armed forces installation in the country.

Some of the most advanced and secretive weaponry was developed and closely guarded. Even its supposed underground exact location was kept a secret.

Clark cleared his throat, "Recent development at Frieden laboratories comes back to one thing; Fire Plague. We believe that it's a copy of our experimental defoliant weapon of mass destruction that was scrapped several years back to use in the war."

"Never heard of it." Brock said.

"That's because there were only about ten people from techs to officers who were on its original inception. The blueprints and schematics to making the defoliant were stored in Pallet Town and our investigators found that the lab's location had been broken into with much of its data compromised."

"So our defense network is down?"

"No. We've managed to lock out the extremely sensitive things, but were unable to save the weapons research division. Seeing how the defoliant was the only thing stolen; I believe that it was the only thing they were after."

"We don't know if this is operational," Ash said, "But if it is. We need to inform the President at once that an imminent threat is on Kalos' doorstep."

"We're preparing a briefing now, but we're going to need more insight to counteract this threat." The Admiral said, "I've got my hands full up here, but I will contact Admiral Barnes of the First Fleet to see if he can send additional reinforcements to your new location."

"And what would that be?"

"The Treske Badlands,"

"I was afraid you'd say that."

* * *

Admiral Ingridson Alvero studied the chart on the screen, a faint smile tugging her face as they displayed real-time movements of the numerous Frieden Naval vessels stationed around the world. A particular large cluster, two whole fleets were beginning to gather at the edge of their territorial waters close to Kalos.

She would begin their offensive soon, but there were also other matters.

Director Stehl had informed her about the "incident" of the Emperor's plane and it did please her when he said that no survivors or identifiable evidence would be recovered.

Her luxury apartment sat at a tall tower that overlooked the river at a wider point just a few minutes from downtown Vargazs. She did have an admiral's salary, so the eight thousand square foot residence with a breathtaking view would have easily been out of her grade. The oligarch, one of her many benefactors in the shipbuilding industry had gifted it to her as a thanks for rewarding his business with new contracts to build three new classes; one of which her _Ultimatum_ flagship was a part of.

The office of hers was oval in shape, with a large sliding door that led to another pair and allowed visitors inside without giving them a view of her personal quarters. Not that she had time for such things, but the opulence had now been a characteristic that she no longer appreciated. All of her devotion was now to bringing back the glory of warfare and Frieden supremacy.

Alvero answered her ringing phone on the second chime, "Alvero."

"Admiral," Director Stohl greeted, "We're here."

"Bring them up. Separately."

It took just a few minutes to head up the elevators to the private suite before a pair of armored MUN agents stepped through the office doors, leading another middle aged man with a light gray dress uniform with rows and rows of medals. His face was in a big scowl as he glared at his escorts who casually carried their submachine guns across their front.

"Is the escort really necessary?" He demanded.

"Emperor," Alvero greeted, ignoring the jab, "You're looking fine today. I must admit though, I preferred the black yesterday."

The Frieden Emperor huffed, "If my choice of clothing is the last part of choosing what I can do then I would go with the blue."

His defiance continued to remain.

"Things have been going exactly as I have planned. News of your assassination attempt by the Kalosians has been greatly exaggerated and the outrage is glorious. All that remains is an approval by your new council before we can retaliate."

"You can't do this!"

"I already have. Soon, I will show the world that the Kalosians have failed, but the damage will be done. They will pay for a crime they did not commit, but our demands to avoid bloodshed will be absurd to them. They'd rather fight than openly give me territory and their people to build our war machine."

"We could have negotiated," The Emperor protested.

"Negotiate what? The Kalosians haven't forgotten all the blood we've spilled over the years and neither have we. Had it not been for the Federation and your blasted uncle, then we would not be here today! They need to pay for that they had done!"

Emperor huffed, "It sounds as if the Federation is the real enemy."

Alvero had to give that to him. He may be stupid, but he pointed out that her grudge against the Federation was driving her primary motivation.

Truth be told; she had scored several victories against Federation ships, but each commander onboard was tact enough to telegraph that they were going to go down swinging. Each of them did and she had to change her tactics to much more merciless than what her peers would have expected.

"It matters not anymore. What matters now is how cooperative you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I clearly couldn't trust you at the summit with the Kalosians. Should have known that you would try to appease them again."

The Emperor looked appalled, "Admiral, if we declare war on Kalos, the Federation and Unova would step in and we'd be drawn into a fight we can't win."

"You leave the fighting aspect to me Emperor." Alvero coldly bit back, "If Director Stehl can get the work I have assigned to him done, we will have the power to turn the Federation's own strength against them."

"You're insane," He growled, "Admiral, nothing except violence and ruining of lives and nations can come out of this! Why do you think the rest of your officers from the war have all perished?"

"They went down fighting! That's enough. You will issue a statement to Kalos, saying that their act of treachery will not go unpunished."

"No," The Emperor declared, "I would you rather kill me than issue something false like that. Why did you have to destroy all the lasting peace we tried to build with the Federation and the Kalosians?"

"There was never going to be any peace," She spoke the last word with contempt through clenched teeth, "Emperor, why do you have to be so naïve to figure out that we will not stop fighting them until they are all either dead or enslaved under our rule!" She stood up, "As for killing you. We both know I can't do that. But your family," She smirked as the Frieden ruler's face turned to horror, "I can touch them."

"You wouldn't."

"Yes I would. Now I would hate to do that Excellency and wipe out the last of the royal bloodline, but your recent defiance has started to make you more of a liability. I feel that you need to start taking me more seriously and ask less questions on what I do."

"Do whatever you wish with me Admiral," The Emperor protested, "Please…do not hurt my family. They have nothing to do with this."

"I will not harm them…as long as you do as I say."

His head fell down, defeated.

"Now," She stood up and dragged a chair from her desk to the center, "I have some unfinished business, but since I need to keep you in line and get information; I thought why not kill two spearows with one stone?" Alvero brought her phone to her ear, "Yes. Bring him in."

Moments later; two more Nines had brought in another man. Unlike the Emperor, who had been able to move on his free will; this newcomer had a cloth over his head and thick metal chains and bonds shackling his wrists.

The two faceless agents sat him down and violently ripped the blindfold from his head. The man groaned, blinking his eyes as they were overwhelmed by the sudden assault of light.

The Emperor recognized him immediately.

"Admiral," He started, "You can't do this!"

"Watch me," She huffed, unmoved by his pleas.

"This is a Federation envoy who was selected by me to come on their behalf! Killing him will accomplish nothing!"

"I don't intend to kill him," Alvero reached into her drawer to pull out a sleek black matte pistol, "But if he does not give me what I am asking for; then he will wish I did."

The Admiral knew that the snide Schein hadn't used a Frieden based team to break him out of her most secure prison, as she knew all the groups capable of accomplishing such a feat and they all reported to her eventually. That left a foreign operators and what few known groups existed kept their identities closely guarded, despite being open secrets.

"Before I say anything," The envoy breathed, still glaring warily at his captors, "I had nothing to do with their escape."

"I was supposed to kill your Director of Foreign Relations," Alvero snapped, "Now while I know you didn't broker their escape, it seems to have coincided that someone I want put away for the rest of his miserable life has escaped from a place I will not name."

"What makes you think the same person's responsible?"

"Hard not to accuse such a thing. After all; you know very well about your protective detail that was supposed to guard you the other day yes?"

There was no response from the envoy, so she extended a thumb on the pistol and cocked its hammer back to prove how serious she was. Behind her, the Emperor watched, both horrified and powerless. He had known the Federation born man for years and even considered him a friend, despite being countries that held bitter animosity to one another.

"Now I will ask again; hopefully for the last time. The group that broke Schein out and escaped with the director are one and the same. Who are they?"

The envoy waited as long as he would dare when Alvero's finger began to tighten on the trigger. She had the gun placed on his kneecap and would blow it off at point blank range.

He did something he vowed never to do, give up on critical Federation intelligence, "The Commandos. The team assigned to protect the Director of Foreign Relations also broke into the prison to rescue our informant. They were led by Captain Ash Ketchum and conducted by Cobalt Team."

Alvero smiled again, "See? That wasn't so bad."

"Go to hell," The envoy spat.

She ignored the insult, keeping the gun pressed against his leg, "Now, tell me more about this Ash Ketchum and Cobalt."

* * *

 **Hey everyone. Brav is back with another chapter.**

 **I hate to say this but this may be the last one in a while. First off; I am in the middle of writer's block. While that's not easy for me to say, it's true. I have a good idea in mind of what I want to do while writing, but I am just worried it will not come out in a way I would like it to. I tend to rush various scenes sometimes and want to make it as good as I possibly can.**

 **So that doesn't mean I won't stop writing. I merely want to jump ahead so that I can proofread and edit chapters in advance instead of writing and publishing in the same day without any of the above. I'll continue to write, just won't post updated chapters until I feel comfortable with my pace.**

 **Thanks as always for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**

 **Brav**


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